i£x  Htbrtfi 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  hook 

Because  it  has  heen  said 
"Sver'thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  hook." 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


ILLUSTRATED 
FLUSHING  and  VICINITY 

College  Point 

Broadway-  Flushing 

Malba  -on-  the  -  Sound 

Whitestone 

Bayside 

Douglaston 

Little  Neck 

IN  THE 

THIRD  WARD,  QUEENS  BOROUGH 
CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 

1=1 

Compiled,  Edited  and  Published  by 

DARBY  RICHARDSON 

under  the  auspices  of 

Business  Men's  Association  of  Flushing 
Flushing  Association 
Upper  Flushing  Association 


Copyrighted,  1917,  by  Darby  Richardson 


AN  APPRECIATION 


Y 'HANKS  are  due  George  IV.  Breck 
for  the  artistic  cover;  Richard  F. 
Outcault  for  Buster  Brown  sketch; 
Everett  P.  Martin,  Christopher  Clark 
and  Park  Commissioner  John  E. 
Weier  for  photographs;  President 
George  W.  Pople  and  the  Publicity 
Committee  of  the  Business  Men's 
Association  of  Flushing — Tax  Com- 
missioner John  J.  Halleran,  Chairman, 
Ellis  Parker  Butler,  Clinton  T.  Roe 
and  R.  E.  Hecker;  and  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  who  have  contributed  the 
articles  on  Flushing  and  Vicinity. 

The  Editor. 


Cover  and  half-tone  plates  by  Hagopian  Photo  Engraving  Company, 
New  York 


Printing  by  Isaac  Goldmann  Company,  New  York. 


FLUSHING  is  villagy,  and  therein  lies  its  old-fashioned  charm.  Its 
heritages  of  old  houses  and  old  trees,  old  friends  and  old  ways  pos- 
sess a  magic  lure  to  all  who  once  come  under  its  spell. 

Every  town  has  its  Main  Street,  and  Flushing's  hasn't  changed  in 
many  years  save  for  the  garish  movie  heaven  that  has  thrust  itself  into 
the  midst  of  a  quiet  settlement.  Henry,  the  old  cigar  maker,  still  rolls 
many  shapes  for  many  tastes,  and  every  nook  has  its  devotees  of  Havana 
and  tellers  of  local  history.  Nobody  seems  ever  to  do  any  business  in 
Flushing — everybody  is  always  visiting  in  a  next-door-neighbor  sort  of 
way;  yet  through  and  underneath  this  friendly  calm  flows  a  steady 
stream  of  North  Shore  trade,  from  old  Whitestone  and  College  Point, 
Bayside  and  Little  Neck  and  a  dozen  more  surrounding  towns — for 
Flushing  is  a  veritable  tollgate  of  well-stocked  shops  that  feed  and  clothe 
the  sixty  thousand  or  more  residents  of  the  Third  Ward  of  Queens 
Borough.  Over  its  drawbridge  across  Flushing  Creek  must  pass  all 
who  come  and  go  between  New  York  and  these  Long  Island  points. 

Flushing  doesn't  have  to  be  apologized  for  or  explained — it  needs 
only  to  be  introduced  to  weary,  long-suffering,  pent-up  flat-occupants 
to  become  the  belle  of  New  York's  suburban  beauties.  Flushing  is  hos- 
pitable, Flushing  people  are  hospitable,  and  a  few  more  choice  souls 
will  be  welcomed  into  its  delightful  community. 

So  this  book  is  a  shy  presentation  of  the  prettiest,  quaintest  and 
neatest  of  New  York's  country  daughters  to  a  large  number  of  benighted 
fellow-beings,  in  the  certainty  that  the  introduction  will  be  followed  by 
an  early  call  and  later  by  a  home  under  the  shade  of  Flushing's  trees. 
Flushing's  Trees !  One  never  saw  so  many  beautiful  trees  of  so  many 
kinds  in  a  lifetime  anywhere  else ;  there  are  more  trees  in  Flushing  than 
there  are  people.  But  wait  and  let  Mr.  Martin  describe  some  of  them 
for  you.  And  "Why  I  live  in  Flushing,"  as  told  by  Ellis  Parker  Butler, 
could  well  be  told  over  and  over  by  many  thousands  of  happy  and  con- 
tented home-dwellers  who  have  found  rest  and  peace  and  quietude  here. 
Other  articles  by  Flushing  men  and  women  will  tell  you  what  Flushing 
is  doing.  Read  them  all — their  wholesomeness  is  refreshing,  and  they 
may  lead  you  on  to  the  Road  to  Happiness. 

IN   SEARCH   OF  A  HOME 
Assuredly  there  is  no  more  wretched,  cooped-up,  cigar-box  dwelling  on  the  face 
of  the  globe  than  the  average  New  York  apartment  house.    Every  year  ceilings  are 
lower  and  rents  higher.     The  buildings  are  uncomfortable,  depressing,   and  if  not 
physically  unsanitary  they  are  most  unhealthy  for  the  mind. 

And  yet,  as  one  walks  through  the  city,  one  is  constrained  to  believe  that  it  is 
largely  the  cliff  dweller's  fault.  He  insists  upon  following  the  crowd,  packing  into 
apartments  hardly  large  enough  for  a  healthy  cat. 

—Editorial  in  New  York  Globe,  July  9,  1917. 

The  answer  is — Flushing. 

3 


4 


NEW  YORK'S  SUBWAYS  SOON  TO 
REACH  FLUSHING  AND  VICINITY 


Proposed  Extension  of  Rapid  Transit  from  Alburtis  Avenue,  Corona,  through  Flushing  to  the  City 
Line  at  Little  Neck  and  to  College  Point,  Malba  and  Whitestone, 
by  Leasing  Tracks  of  L.  I.  R.  R.  Co. 


THE  Dual  Subway  is  shortly  to  be  extended  to  Flushing  and  vicinity. 
Trains  are  expected  to  be  in  operation  by  May,  1918,  with  5  cents 
fare  from  any  point  on  present  Subway  to  Flushing,  Main  and 
Bridge  Streets,  and  10  cents  to  points  beyond  to  Little  Neck  and  White- 
stone  Landing.  Agreement  is  about  to  be  made  between  the  Public 
Service  Commission  and  the  Long  Island  Railroad  for  leasing  the  tracks 
of  the  Railroad  from  Corona  through  Flushing  to  Little  Neck  and  to 
College  Point,  Malba  and  Whitestone. 

Development  possibilities  of  the  Flushing  district  are  enormous, 
and  Flushing  will  probably  witness  a  real  estate  boom  smilar  to 
that  which  occurred  in  the  Bronx  a  few  years  ago.  The  Third  Ward 
of  Queens  Borough,  which  comprises  Flushing  and  other  villages  shown 
on  accompanying  map,  lies  no  farther  from  Herald  Square  than  does 
the  Bronx,  which  it  almost  equals  in  area — 30  square  miles. 

Soon  no  more  will  one  have  to  apologize — "I've  got  to  catch  my 
train,"  for  when  the  Subway  runs  through  the  Flushing  district  one  need 
not  travel  there  on  time-table  schedule.  And  no  railroad  terminal  sta- 
tion to  be  reached  first,  either.  Through  trains  will  be  operated  from 
Times  Square  and  Grand  Central  express  stations,  and  one  will  get  to 
Flushing  points  in  less  time  than  to  the  Bronx  or  Washington  Heights. 
Through  trolleys  now  run  to  Flushing  and  College  Point  from  59th 
Street  and  Second  Avenue,  New  York,  for  5  cents  fare  in  less  than  one 
hour;  and  the  Long  Island  Railroad  operates  30  trains  a  day  from  Penn- 
sylvania station  in  18  minutes  to  Flushing.  Commutation  is  $7.10  per 
month. 

Appreciation  of  the  coming  Subway  service  to  the  Flushing  section 
will  prompt  the  forehanded  to  secure  a  home  in  Flushing  or  vicinity  by 
buying,  before  the  rise  in  prices,  a  plot  of  ground  for  future  building  or  a 
residence  already  erected. 


5 


You 

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WHY  I  LIVE  IN  FLUSHING 

By  ELLIS  PARKER  BUTLER,  the  Author 


THIS  May  morning,  as  I  sit  before  my  typewriter,  I  can  look  out  of 
my  window  and  see  the  pale  green  leaves  of  a  thousand  trees 
quivering  in  the  sunlight,  and  the  blue  sky  through  the  network 
of  the  upper  branches,  and  the  white  clouds  drifting  across  the  blue.  I 
can  hear  the  breeze,  in  little  gusts,  whispering  through  the  trees.  When 
I  close  my  eyes  I  hear  the  same  nature  sounds  that  I  hear  when  I  am 
stretched  out  flat  on  my  back  on  some  mountain  side  in  the  Catskills, 
a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  heart  of  civilization.  I  am  far  from 
the  rush  of  dusty,  dirty  city  life.  I  am  in  a  placid,  beautiful  country 
town. 

My  telephone  rings.  Someone  in  New  York  must  see  me.  Eighteen 
minutes  in  the  cleanest  and  most  comfortable  of  steel  cars,  on  a  swift 
electric  train,  puts  me  in  the  very  heart  of  Manhattan !  I  live  in  a 
country  town  that  is  a  veritable  park,  and  I  am  nearer  the  heart  of 
Manhattan  than  those  who  live  in  the  crowded  tenement-beset  Bronx! 

I  was  born  and  raised  in  Iowa,  in  a  town  of  14,000  souls — a  town 
that  was  a  real  town,  complete  in  itself  and  with  as  much  personal 
character  as  any  man  or  woman  has.   Then  I  came  to  New  York,  began 


Main  Street,  Flushing 

7 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


a  family,  and  sickened  of  living  in  a  trench, 
with  brick  walls  on  two  sides  and  a  hot,  as- 
phalted bottom,  where  you  got  nature  by 
leaning  out  of  a  window  and  twisting  your 
neck  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  sky.  I  might 
have  been  there  yet,  for  all  that,  if  business 
had  not  taken  me  one  noon  to  a  suburban 
town  above  Manhattan.  I  stepped  off  the 
train  and  saw  grassy  lawns,  leafy  trees, 
charming  homes  and  little  bevys  of  school 
girls  in  white  dresses,  hatless,  laughing  and 
playful  and  not,  as  in  New  York,  scurrying 
timidly  for  fear  of  the  brazen  mashers  and 
loafers  that  lined  the  streets.  My  soul  ex- 
panded, I  can  tell  you,  and  I  drew  a  deep 
breath.  I  knew  then  what  was  the  difference 
between  living  and  merely  being  alive.  Those 
who  live  in  places  like  Flushing  do  live. They  have  room  to  live  in. 

I  was  going  to  move  to  that  above-New  York  village  at  once,  but 
when  I  spoke  to  my  friends  they  said  "Wow !"  I  discovered  what  that 
meant.  High  rents,  high  costs  of  everything,  a  place  for  the  extrava- 
gant and  the  fashion  apes  only.  Then  I  began  visiting  suburbs.  You 
know  what  most  of  them  are — flat,  imitation  streets,  rows  of  cheap 


1,000  Years  Old  Oak  in 
Mr.  Butler's  Yard 


Bowne  Avenue  From  Corner  of  Sanford  Avenue 

8 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


houses  all  alike,  as  much  character  as  the  bottom  of  a  pie  pan.  And 
then  I  happened  on  Flushing! 

The  day  I  first  visited  Flushing  I  rented  a  house  here.  Some  years 
later  I  bought  one.  I  have  lived  here  a  dozen  years  or  more  and  I  never 
want  to  live  elsewhere.  Why? 

Flushing,  more  than  most  towns  around  New  York,  has  character. 
It  is  a  complete  town  in  itself.  When  I  live  in  Flushing  I  live  in  a  town 
with  a  history  and  an  inheritance  of  memories  and  meanings,  not  in  a 
mere  collection  of  houses.  Flushing  is  no  mushroom,  no  real  estate 
developer's  suburb.  It  was  settled  by  the  English  a  few  weeks  after  they 
settled  on  Man- 
hattan. It  has  al- 
ways been  a  town 
with  character. 
It  has  families 
that  came  with 
the  first  English 
settlers,  and  that 
came  with  the 
first  Quaker  set- 
tlers. It  has  an- 
cient houses  and 


Old  Town  Hall 
and 

Soldiers'  Monument 

still  more  ancient 
trees — some  trees 
that  were  grow- 
ing before  Colum- 
bus was  born! 
Someone  has  said 
that  to  be  a  gen- 
tleman a  man  must  begin  with  his  great-grandfather.  Flushing  began 
to  be  what  it  is  before  our  great-grandfathers  were  born. 

Flushing  is  not  only  worth  living  in  because  it  is  a  town  with 
character  and  a  town  by  itself,  but  it  has  the  added  advantage  of  being 
an  actual  part  of  New  York  City,  with  city  police,  city  schools,  city  fire 
department  service,  city  water,  city  sewerage  systems  and  all  that  the 
city  can  give  in  comfort,  service  and  protection.  It  has  clubs,  societies, 
banks,  private  schools,  public  schools,  parochial  schools,  churches — 


Public  Library 


9 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


everything!  It  has  the  handsomest  high  school  in  New  York,  and  the 
best  equipped.    It  has  a  superb  hospital. 

In  the  spring  you  smell  the  lilacs  and  the  magnolias ;  in  the  autumn 
the  pleasant  odor  of  burning  leaves  tells  you  you  are  not  cooped  up  in 
the  city  where  the  principal  nose  titillation  is  gasoline  smoke.  Your 
children  have  lawns  to  play  on,  not  hot  streets.  Your  wife  has  neigh- 
bors, not  "females  in  the  opposite  flats." 

But,  after  all,  the  reason  I  love  Flushing  is  not  because  it  is  the 
most  beautiful  town  near  New  York,  or  the  nearest  real  town,  or  the 
most  comfortable  (although  it  is  all  those),  but  because  of  the  people 
in  it.  I  think  the  best  and  the  most  friendly  and  the  most  kindly  and 
helpful  people  in  the  world  live  right  here  in  Flushing.  And  a  town  is 
only  what  its  people  are.  You  don't  find  that  Flushing  is  made  up  of 
mere  commuters,  who  rush  home  and  eat  and  sleep,  and  then  rush  back 
to  New  York.  You  will  find  it  filled  with  big-souled  and  big-hearted 
men  and  women  who  want  you  to  be  part  of  Flushing's  life,  who  are  in 
clubs  and  societies  and  organizations  for  helpfulness  and  happiness,  and 
who  will  welcome  you  and  make  you  one  with  them.  You  will  find  that 
all  the  men  and  women  with  brains  and  talent  and  wealth  and  good-will 
are  in  these  little  conspiracies,  and,  before  you  know  how  it  has  hap- 
pened, some  of  these  friends  that  are  my  friends  will  have  welcomed  you 
and  you  will  be  part  of  Flushing,  and  you  will  think,  as  I  do,  that  the 
best  part  of  Flushing  is  the  people  of  Flushing. 

People  come  to  Flushing  to  live  in  houses;  they  stay  because  they 
love  Flushing  itself. 


Armory,  Company  I,  Tenth  Regiment,  National  Guard 


HISTORICAL  FLUSHING 

Bp  Rev.  HENRY  D.  WALLER 


THE  original  Township  of  Flushing  comprised,  up  to  the  time  of 
consolidation  into  Greater  New  York,  the  Villages  of  Flushing, 
College  Point,  Whitestone,  Bayside,  Douglaston  and  Little  Neck. 
Each  had  a  separate  government,  and  all  were  represented  by  Trustees  at 
meeting  of  the  Flushing  Town  Board. 

Flushing  was  originally  written  Vlissingen ;  but  it  was  at  a  very  early 
date  Anglicized.  The  town  was  settled  in  1645  by  a  company  of  English- 
men, who  came  from  New  England  and  who  had  received  a  patent  from 
the  Dutch  Colony  of  New  Netherland.  The  town,  thus  incorporated, 
was  Dutch  in  all  respects  but  one.  Its  name,  its  laws,  the  titles  of  its 
officials,  and  its  allegiance  were  Dutch ;  but  the  inhabitants  were  English- 
men. At  no  subsequent  period  did  the  Dutch  element  among  the  in- 
habitants have  any  considerable  influence  in  determining  the  general 
character  of  the  community,  though  Flushing  is  often,  erroneously,  called 
an  "old  Dutch  town." 

Flushing's  first  reli- 
gious teacher  was  the 
Rev.  Francis  Doughty, 
who  had  been  a  Church 
of  England  clergyman, 
but  who  had  been  de- 
prived of  his  living  in 
England  because  of 
persistent  nonconform- 
ity. He  came  to  Mas- 
sachusetts in  1637.  Ex- 
pelled from  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Colony  for 
heresy,  he  came  to 
Long  Island  as  one  of 
the  patentees  of  New 
Town   (then  Mespat). 

Here      he      Was      fined  old  Quaker  Meeting  House— 1694 

and  *  imprisoned  by 

Director-General  Stuyvesant.  Apparently  to  rid  himself  of  a  trouble- 
some object,  Stuyvesant  sent  Doughty  to  Flushing  as  Minister  of  the 
Gospel;  and  by  threats  compelled  the  officials  to  receive  him. 

Doughty's  ministry  in  Flushing  is  chiefly  interesting  because  it 
was  in  connection  with  him  that  we  find  the  first  reference  to  Capt. 
John  Underhill,  an  official  of  the  town,  who  was  the  most  famous  Indian 
fighter  of  his  day.  We  first  hear  of  him  as  an  officer  in  the  British 
forces.  He  came  to  Massachusetts  with  Winthrop,  in  1630,  and  was 
frequently  employed  by  the  Colony  as  a  leader  in  expeditions  against 
the  Indians.  He  was  also  professedly  a  religious  enthusiast,  much  given 
to  sanctimonious  expressions  in  his  writings,  but  of  known  impurity  of 
life.  But  Underhill  was  a  good  fighter,  and  that  seemed,  in  the  eyes 
of  his  contemporaries,  to  have  atoned  for  his  many  imperfections.  He 


11 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Old  Bowne  House 


appears  as  Sheriff  of 
Flushing  in  1648,  and 
acting  as  censor  of  the 
pulpit.  He  was  not 
pleased  with  Doughty's 
preaching,  and  conse- 
quently closed  the  door 
of  his  preaching-place. 
He  said  that  the  minis- 
ter "did  preach  against 
the  present  rulers,  who 
were  his  masters." 

An  official  document 
of  1649  speaks  of 
"Flushing  which  is  an 
handsome  village,  and 
tolerably  stocked  with 
cattle,"  and  states  that 
the  only  known  tavern 

on  Long  Island,  except  the  one  at  the  ferry,  was  in  Flushing. 

Our  little  settlement  was  12  years  old  when  (August  6,  1657)  the 
ship  IVoodhouse  brought  to  New  Netherland  a  number  of  members  of 
the  Society  of  Friends.  Some  of  them  came  to  Long  Island,  and  settled 
in  Jamaica  and  Flushing.  A  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  Dutch 
colonial  government,  imposing  a  fine  of  £50  on  any  one  who  gave 
shelter  to  a  Quaker  for  one  night,  and  authorizing  the  confiscation  of 
any  vessel  that  brought  Quakers  to  the  Province.  This  action  on  the 
part  of  the  colonial  government  called  out  the  famous  and  noble  re- 
monstrance of  Flushing  (dated  Dec.  27,  1657).  It  was  signed  by  28 
freeholders  of  Flushing  and  2  from  Jamaica.  They  declined  to  inter- 
fere with  anyone  because  of  religious  belief  or  practice — "Presbyterian, 
Independent,  Baptist  or  Quaker."  The  remonstrance  was  written  by 
Edward  Heart,  the  town  Clerk ;  and  presented  by  Tobias  Feake,  the 
Sheriff.  Heart  and  Feake,  together  with 
Edward  Farrington  and  William  Noble, 
magistrates  and  signers  of  the  remonstrance, 
were  arrested  and  imprisoned.  Heart,  Far- 
rington and  Noble  weakened  and  begged  for 
mercy.  On  Sheriff  Feake  fell  the  full  weight 
of  Stuyvesant's  wrath.  The  Sheriff  was  de- 
graded from  office,  and  sentenced  to  pay  a 
fine  of  200  guilders,  or  to  be  banished.  Town 
meetings  were  forbidden,  unless  held  by  the 
consent  of  the  Director-General  and  the 
Council. 

Prominent  among  those  who  championed 
the  rights  of  the  Quakers  was  John  Bowne, 
whose  wife  was  a  member  of  the  Society. 
He  invited  the  Quakers  to  meet  at  his  house, 


Old  Prince  House  and  Cedar  of 
Lebanon 


12 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


which  still  stands  on  the  Avenue  that  bears  his  name.  Later  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Society.  For  permitting  these  meetings  at  his  house, 
Bowne  was  arrested  and  fined  £25  Flemish.  He  refused  to  pay  the 
fine,  and  was  sent  to  Holland.  He  stated  his  case  to  the  Directors  of 
the  West  India  Company,  who  set  him  at  liberty  and  rebuked  Stuyve- 
sant. 


Bell  Avenue — Bayside  (Upper)     Eighth  Avenue — Whitestone  (Lower) 

The  Quakers  were  the  first  religious  body  to  effect  a  permanent 
organization  in  Flushing;  and  their  Meeting  House  was  the  first  build- 
ing in  Flushing  devoted  to  public  worship.  The  first  Meeting  House 
was  built  in  1694.  In  1716  orders  were  given  for  the  erection  of  a 
new  Meeting  House,  which  was  finished  some  time  between  1716  and 
1719  and  is  still  standing  on  Broadway  opposite  the  Town  Hall. 

In  1672  George  Fox,  the  Founder  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  visited 
Flushing  and  was  the  guest  of  John  Bowne.    Fox  preached  in  the  open 

13 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


air  under  the  spreading 
oaks,  the  site  of  which  is 
marked  by  a  stone. 

The  first  visit  in  Flush- 
ing of  a  Church  of  England 
clergyman  was  in  1702, 
when  the  Rev.  George 
Keith,  missionary  of  the 
newly  organized  (London) 
Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel,  came  to 
Flushing,  accompanied  by 
the  Rev.  John  Talbot,  Cha- 
plain of  the  warship  that 
brought  them  to  America. 
Keith  had  formerly  been  a 
traveling  preacher  of  the 
Quakers.  He  was  natural- 
ly regarded  by  them  as  a 
deserter.  So  when  Keith 
appeared  in  the  Flushing 
Meeting  House,  and  stood 
up  to  speak,  he  encountered 
a  warm  but  not  cordial  reception. 
The  Friends  accused  him  of  violat- 
ing the  law  by  preaching  for  hire, 
but  he  replied"  that  as  a  Quaker 
preacher  he  had  received  pay  from 
that  very  meeting.  Sometime  with- 
in two  years  after  his  visit  we  find 
that  services  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land were  being  regularly  held  in 
the  Block  House,  which  stood  near 
the  site  of  the  Armory  on  Broad- 
way. The  first  church  building  was 
erected  in  1746,  where  the  present 
St.  George's  Church  now  stands. 
In  1761  St.  George's  Church  received  its  charter  from  King  George  III. 
The  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury,  Rector,  later  became  the  first  Bishop  of  the 
American  Episcopal  Church. 

Flushing  was  the  residence  of  Sir  George  Clinton,  the  Royal  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Province,  about  the  middle  of  the  18th  Century.  It  is 
certain  that  the  Provincial  Council  was  held  here  at  least  once — May 
3,  1753. 

When  we  come  to  Revolutionary  times  we  find  that  Flushing  oc- 
cupied a  prominent  place.  Here  was  the  home  of  Cadwallader  Colden, 
who  was  Lieutenant-Governor  of  New  York  from  1761  until  his  death, 
in  1776.  He  was  repeatedly  at  the  head  of  the  government  because  of 
the  death  or  absence  of  various  governors. 

14 


St.  Michael's  Catholic  Church  (Upper) 
St.  George's  Episcopal  Church  (Lower) 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


On  the  outskirts  of  Flushing,  where  the  village  of  Whitestone  now 
stands,  lived  another  distinguished  man — Francis  Lewis,  a  Signer  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  His  son,  Morgan  Lewis,  became 
Governor  of  New  York  in 
1804. 

During  the  Revolution- 
ary period  Queens  County 
was  notorious  as  the  home 
of  Royalists — or  Tories, 
as  their  enemies  called 
them.  When,  in  1776,  the 


Thirteenth  Street — College  Point — Flushing 


Residence  Street  in  College  Point 
Flushing 

Rector  of  St.  George's 
Church  was  ordered  by 
civil  authority  to  omit  the 
prayers  for  the  King  and 
Royal  Family,  he  chose 
rather  to  close  the  Church 
for  five  Sundays. 

Tradition  says  that  the  Friend's  Meeting  House  was  used  as  "a 
prison,  a  hospital,  and  a  hay  magazine."  West  of  the  Meeting  House 
was  a  hospital,  where  small-pox  raged.  South  of  the  Meeting  House 
was  a  parade  ground.  The  Aspinwall  house  on  Broadway — later  known 
as  the  Bloodgood  house — was  the  headquarters  of  British  officers.  Col. 
Archibald  Hamilton,  of  the  Queens  County  Militia,  and  Aide-de-camp 
to  Gov.  Tryon,  had  his  headquarters  at  his  home  "Innerwick,"  on  White- 
stone  Avenue — now  the  home  of  Allen  Mitchell  and  his  sister.  Col. 
Hamilton's  house  was  destroped  by  fire  on  Christmas  Eve,  1779.  Can- 
non were  mounted  on  the  ridge  where  the  High  School  stands.  A 
beacon  was  erected  on  Washington  Street,  east  of  Main  Street.  This 
was  one  of  a  system  of  lights  extending  from  near  Oyster  Bay  to  New 
York. 

On  August  1,  1782,  Flushing  was  honored  by  a  visit  from  His  Royal 
Highness  William  Henry,  the  Prince  of  Clarence,  who  was  afterwards 
King  William  IV  of  England.  While  in  Flushing  he  was  the  guest  of 
William  Prince,  whose  house  stood  opposite  the  present  Prince  home- 
stead. 

On  the  10th  of  October,  1789,  the  year  of  his  inauguration  as  the 
first  President  of  the  United  States,  Washington  visited  Flushing  to 
inspect  the  Linnaean  Gardens  of  William  Prince.  He  remarks  in  his 
diary  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  place  "showed  us  what  respect  they 
could,  by  making  the  best  use  of  one  cannon  to  salute." 

IS 


THE  TREES  OF  FLUSHING 

By   EVERETT  P.  MARTIN,  Chairman   Tree  Planting   Committee,  The 
Flushing  Association 


THE  trees  of  Flushing  are  one  of  its  greatest  attractions.    In  fact, 
here  is  an  arboretum  non  catalogued,  and  if  there  is  a  complete 
list  of  the  trees  or  any  one  who  knows  where  all  the  rare  and 
curious  specimens  are  I  am  not  aware  of  the  fact.    The  result  is  that 
one  can  live  for  years  in  Flushing  and  be  continually  discovering  new 
specimens. 

The  oldest,  largest  and  in  some  respects  the  most  interesting  tree 
in  Flushing  is  the  White  Oak  in  the  back  of  Ellis  Parker  Butler's 


Old  Cedar  of  Lebanon 


yard,  242  State  Street.  This  tree  is  19  feet  in  circumference  a  foot 
above  the  ground,  54  feet  high,  with  a  stretch  of  90  feet  across  its 
branches,  one  branch  being  53  feet  long.  The  great  breadth  and  low 
height  of  this  tree  indicates  that  it  grew  in  the  open.  Within  the 
memory  of  residents  still  living  there  were  several  similar  oaks  growing 
near  this  one.  It  is  stated  that  there  was  an  Indian  Village  here  when 
the  white  men  first  came,  and  those  old  oaks  probably  were  left  to  grow 
in  their  cultivated  fields  for  the  acorns  they  bore. 

Two  beautiful  rows  of  oaks  line  Bowne  Avenue  from  Broadway  to 
Sanford  Avenue.  They  were  set  out  by  the  Parson  brothers  about  1848 
before  the  Avenue  was  opened.  Originally  there  were  21  varieties,  but 
some  have  disappeared.  At  present  there  are  white,  burr,  chestnut,  pin, 
willow-leafed,  and  possibly  black,  red  and  scarlet  oaks — most  of  them 


16 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Cedar  of  Lebanon 
17th  Street,  Near  Broadway 


vigorous — the  largest  being  over  9  feet  in 
circumference  4  feet  above  the  ground. 

Flushing's  most  noted  tree  is  the  old  Cedar 
of  Lebanon,  standing  in  the  field  between 
Chestnut  and  Bayside  Avenue,  about  400 
feet  West  of  the  Whitestone  trolley  line. 
The  history  of  this  tree  is  lost.  It  is  13  feet 
in  circumference  7  feet  above  the  ground,  62 
feet  8  inches  high  and  75  feet  across.  There 
are  two  other  Cedars  of  Lebanon,  one  in  the 
lawn  of  the  Prince  Homestead  near  Law- 
rence Street  on  Jackson  Avenue,  the  other 
in  17th  Street  South  of  Broadway. 

Flushing  has  14  Cedars  of  Mt.  Atlas,  a 
hardier  species  of  the  same  genus  as  Cedar 
of  Lebanon.  They  are  to  be  found  one  on 
the  South  side  of  the  Davies  place  on  Bowne 
Avenue,  one  back  of  Mr.  J.  D.  Wells  house 
beside  the  new  High  School,  4  are 
growing  on  the  South  side  of  Chestnut 
Street  near  Parsons  Avenue,  and  sev- 
eral are  growing  where  the  old  Prince 
Nursery  was  just  across  the  Long 
Island  Railroad  from  the  Bridge  Street 
Station. 

The  pines  are  well  represented. 
There  are  more  white  pines  than  any 
other,  but  the  Scotch,  Austrian  Stone 
and  the  shrubby  knee  pine  are  here. 

The  European  larch,  with  its  deci- 
duous needles,  that  is  one  of  the 
earliest  trees  to  don  its  summer  coat 
of  green,  is  here.    The  Japanese  larch, 

Pseudo  Larix  Kaempferi,  is  represented  by 
one  specimen,  a  beautiful  tree  in  front  of  Mr. 
Jackson's  on  Washington  Street. 

Closely  related  to  the  larch  is  the  Cypress 
(Taxodium),  of  which  there  are  at  least  3 
species.  The  T.  Lantifolium  on  Broadway, 
in  front  of  the  new  high  school,  T.  Glypto- 
strobus  on  Parsons  Avenue,  just  South  of 
Broadway,  noted  for  its  curly  needles,  and 
another  Chinese  species  on  Sanford  Avenue 
near  Parsons  Avenue.  Other  conifera  are 
red  cedar  or  Juniper,  Arbor  Vitae,  Hemlock, 
several  kinds  of  spruce  and  balsam.  Then 
there  are  the  beautiful  evergreens  Retino- 
spera,  Cryptomaria  and  Yews.  There  are 
quite  a  number  of  Gingko  trees,  but  the  two 
Japanese  Larch— Washington  St.     that  are  much  the  finest  specimens  are  on 

17 


Weeping  Beech,  Washington  Street 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Cypress  in  Front  of 
New  High  School 


Austrian  Pine — Madison  Ave. 


Tulip 


Bowne  Avenue,  one  in  Mr.  Renwick's  near  the 
Avenue  and  the  other  100  feet  east  of  the  Avenue 
between  Madison  Avenue  and  Barclay  Stareet. 
Another  interesting  tree  is  the  Sorrel  Tree, 
Oxydendrum  Arboreum.  Its  leaves  are  sour  like 
sorrel.  It  has  a  great  display  of  white  flowers  in 
July  and  its  autumn  colors  are  beautiful.  Several 
specimens  are  in  Mr.  W.  P.  Willis's  yard,  near  the 
street,  100  feet  north  of  Barclay,  on  Bowne 
Avenue.  A  larger  tree  grows  on  the  Parsons 
estate. 

There  are  many  beautiful  elms,  American  and 
European.  The  one  with  the  widest  spread  is  on 
Whitestone  Avenue,  opposite  the  High  School. 
The  tallest  is  a  few  hundred  feet  east  of  the  High 
School  on  the  same  side  of  Broadway. 

Maples  are  here  in  great  numbers  and  of  many 
species,  vary- 
ing in  size 
from  the  sil- 
ver maple, 
nearly  4  feet 
in  diameter, 
to  the  cut- 
leafed  maple 
that  is  sel- 
dom more 
than  four 
feet  high. 
Beeches  are 
quite  com- 
mon and 
most  of  them 
are  of  im- 
ported stock  but  seem  at  home  here.  The 
large    weeping    Beech    on  Washington 
Street  near  Fox  Lane  is  claimed  to  be 
the  finest  in  the  United  States.    It  is  a 
wonderful  tree  and  nothing  in  Flushing 
equals  it.  The  two  Gums,  sour  and  sweet, 
are  natives  here,  and  some  fine  trees  are 
to  be  seen.    Why  two  trees  so  far  apart 
botanically   should  both  be  classed  as 
Gums  is  a  puzzle. 

Some  fine  old  Sycamores  are  to  be  seen. 
The  Ash  is  not  a  popular  shade-tree  on 
account  of  its  slow  growth ;  still  there  are 
some  noble  Ash  trees  on  Sanford  Avenue, 
north  side  from  Percy  to  Central  Avenue, 
but  the  finest  are  standing  in  what  was 

18 


Winter  Sentinels 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


the  lawn  of  the  old 
Bowne  Mansion  near 
the  Stand  Pipe. 

Many  fine  specimens 
of  weeping  trees  are 
to  be  seen.  Besides  the 
Weeping  Beech  we 
have  the  Weeping 
Birch,  Weeping  Wil- 
low, Mulberry,  Spruce, 
Hemlock  and  For- 
sythia. 

The  flowering  shrubs 
open  the  season  with 
the  Forsythia  early  in 

Old  Murray  House— Residence  Geo.  W.  Breck,  the  Artist         April  and  the  JapOnica, 

Almond,  Lilac,  Syringa, 

Azalea,  Rhododendron,  Mountain,  Laurel,  Fringe  tree,  Wygelia,  Snow- 
ball, Wisteria,  Honeysuckle  and  many  others  join  in  the  procession  until 
late  in  August  or  September.  Hydrangea  Grandiflora  and  Rose  of 
Sharon  bring  up  the  rear.  Two  of  the  finest  collections  are  to  be  seen 
on  private  grounds,  one  is  on  Mr.  J.  D.  Wells's  place,  on  Broadway,  and 
the  other  on  the  Parsons  estate.  And  on  the  latter  are  the  two  finest 
Tulip  trees  in  Flushing.  Both  are  over  3  feet  in  diameter.  The  tallest 
is  over  100  feet  high.  These  two  trees  were  standing  when  the  British 
Redcoats  camped  there  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 


19 


The  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  of  FLUSHING 
AND  VICINITY 

By  JOHN  HOLLEY  CLARK,  Principal  Flushing  High  School 


FLUSHING  has  always  been  noted  for  the  excellence  of  its  schools. 
Early  in  its  history  its  private  schools  were  celebrated.  The  most 
prominent  of  these  was  the  Flushing  Institute,  on  Main  St.,  in 
charge  of  Elias  A.  Fairchild  and  Allen  P.  Nothrup,  whose  memory  is 
fondly  cherished  by  a  host  of  men  in  or  past  middle  life,  who  annually 
hold  a  banquet,  which  is  largely  attended,  and  where  old  school  days 
are  recalled  and  old  friendships  more  firmly  cemented.  Later,  free 
public  schools  were  established  and  Flushing  fortunately  had  as  super- 
intendent and  principals  a  line  of  famous  educators,  including  Thomas 


New  Flushing  High  School 


F.  Harrison,  Nelson  J.  Gates  and  Sherman  Williams.  Flushing  had  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  school  district  in  the  State  to  abolish  tuition 
fees,  and  make  its  common  schools  free.  It  was  also  a  pioneer  in  the 
field  of  High  School  education.  The  Flushing  High  School  was  estab- 
lished by  act  of  the  Legislature  in  1875  and  preceded  by  a  period  of 
18  years  the  recognition  as  a  High  School  of  any  similar  institution  in 
the  city,  by  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
Following  Flushing,  the  next  high  school  in  the  present  city  to  be 
officially  recognized  by  the  Regents  was  the  Jamaica  High  School  in 
1893.  Flushing's  first  Board  of  Education,  authorized  by  a  special  act 
of  the  Legislature  in  1848  and  named  in  the  bill,  consisted  of  Effingham 
H.  Lawrence,  Edward  E.  Mitchell,  Samuel  B.  Parsons,  William  H. 
Fairweather  and  Thomas  Leggett,  Jr.  Prior  to  the  erection  in  1873  of 
what  is  now  known  as  P.  S.  20,  all  the  pupils  in  Flushing  were  accom- 
modated in  a  wooden  structure,  built  in  1848,  on  the  corner  of  Washing- 
ton and  Union  Streets.  This  was  finally  condemned  as  unsafe  and  was 
torn  down  in  1897. 


20 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


The  building  on  the  corner  of  Sandford  Ave.  and  Union  St.,  built 
in  1873,  was  called  the  Flushing  High  School,  and  in  it  were  housed  not 
only  the  High  School  students,  then  very  few  in  numbers,  but  also  the 
upper  grammar  grades.  In  the  years  1891  and  1892  an  extensive  addi- 
tion was  made  on  the  east  of  High  School  building — larger  in  fact  than 
the  original  structure,  and  in  this  large  building  were  accommodated 
all  of  the  high  school  and  grammar  school  pupils  and  most  of  the 
primary  pupils  until  1878-79,  when  new  buildings  were  opened.  These 
schools  are  P.  S.  21,  the  Washington  school,  corner  of  Washington  and 
Union  Sts.,  P.  S.  22,  the  Jefferson  school,  corner  of  Sanford  Ave.  and 
Murray  St.,  P.  S.  23,  the  Lincoln  School,  corner  of  Whitestone  Ave. 
&  State  St.,  and  P.  S.  24,  the  Jackson  school,  on  Queens  Ave.,  between 
Robinson  Ave.  and  Union  St.  Public  School  23,  by  additions,  is  now 
three  times  its  original  size,  and  P.  S.  22  has  increased  in  size  even 
more.  The  latter  school  has  for  some  years  been  a  completely  organ- 
ized elementary  school  with  Kindergartens  and  classes  in  cooking  and 
shop  work,  and  has  graduated  large  classes  twice  a  year.  Its  principal 
since  its  organization  has  been  Miss  Mary  L.  Lyles,  a  teacher  of  wide 
experience  and  culture,  who  is  universally  esteemed  and  loved. 

The  Flushing  High  School  occupied  its  original  building,  corner  of 
Sanford  Ave.  and  Union  St.,  a  period  of  40  years,  from  1875  till  1915. 

During  this  period  it  had  grown  from 
about  five  students  to  more  than  800,  and 
had  far  outgrown  its  accommodations  in 
the  old  building.    In  September,  1915,  the 
beautiful  and  splendidly  equipped  build- 
ing on  Broadway  and  Whitestone  Ave. 
was  so  far  completed  that  it  could  be 
occupied  and  the  High  School  established 
its  new  quarters  there.    The  building  in 
symmetry,  statelinesss   and  impressive- 
ness  is  unsurpassed  and  is  justly  the  ad- 
miration and  pride  of  Flushing.    Its  total 
cost,  including  grounds  and  equipment,  is 
not  far  from  $400,000.      It  was  largely 
efficient    and  devoted 
through    the  faithful, 
labors  of   Mr.  Rupert 
B.  Thomas,  Flushing's 
representative   on  the 
Board    of  Education 
from  1907  to  1917,  that 
the  school  was  secured. 
His  portrait,  given  to 
the  school  by  its 
alumni  and  the  citizens 
of  Flushing,  hangs  in 
the    beautiful  audito- 


21 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


rium.  A  fine  organ  is  soon  to  be  installed.  The  high  school  build- 
ing was  designed  to  accommodate  about  1400  students,  and  is  the 
only  high  school  building  in  the  city  that  is  not  crowded.  The  largest 
register  to  date  has  been  less  than  1100.  The  faculty  numbers  over 
forty.  Mr.  John  Holley  Clark,  the  principal,  has  completed  twenty- 
cipal  of  the  High  School.  More  than  1,000  students  have  been  graduated 
four  years  of  service  in  Flushing  as  Superintendent  of  Schools  and  Prin- 
from  the  school  since  1878,  when  the  first  class  received  their  diplomas. 
Flushing  is  the  residence  of  people  exceptional  for  intellectual  and 
social  cultivation,  and  the  students  are  largely  such  as  would  be  ex- 
pected to  come  from  such  homes. 

When  the  Flushing  High  School  moved  from  its  old  building,  this 
was  devoted  exclusively  to  the  uses  of  P.  S.  20,  and  a  new  principal 
took  charge,  Mr.  Arthur  Boylan,  formerly  a  popular  and  successful 
teacher  in  the  De  Witt  Clinton  High  School,  who  was  at  the  head  of 
the  eligible  list  of  principals.  His  many  friends  predict  a  brilliant 
career  for  him  in  the  school  system. 

Other  sections  of  the  Third  Ward  have  also  been  fortunate  in  re- 
spect to  their  school  buildings,  principals  and  teachers.  At  College 
Point  a  handsome  building,  known  as  P.  S.  27,  was  erected  shortly 
before  consolidation.  The  principal  is  George  W.  Dorland.  At  White- 
stone  one  of  the  city's  standard  school  buildings  was  provided,  shortly 
after  consolidation.  This  is  P.  S.  79.  The  principal  is  Wrilliam  H. 
Carr.  At  Bayside,  where  Mrs.  Jennie  L.  Potter  is  principal  and  at 
Douglaston,  where  Miss  Anna  Brett  is  principal,  new  school  buildings 
have  recently  been  erected.  There  are  now  no  part  time  classes  any- 
where in  this  section.  The  Third  Ward  is  exceptionally  well  provided 
with  accessible  and  adequate  schools,  and  the  many  public  spirited  and 
aggressive  citizens  of  Flushing  and  vicinity  may  be  expected  to  see 
that  this  condition  continues. 


1917  Graduating  Class  of  the  Flushing  High  School 
22 


CATHOLIC  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN 
THE  FLUSHING  VICINITY 

By  Rev.  Father  THOMAS  O'BRIEN 


THE  Borough  of  Queens,  and  especially  the  Flushing  section,  is 
well  provided  with  not  only  the  City  Public  Schools  but  also  what 
may  be  termed  Catholic  Public  Schools,  as  part  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Catholic  Diocese  of  Brooklyn.  These  are  maintained  in  the 
several  parishes,  with  free  tuition  and  the  use  of  school  books.  As  all 
the  taxpayers  support  the  City  schools,  so  all  the  Catholic  people  bear 
the  extra  burden  of  the  parish  schools. 

New  school  buildings  of  the  very  latest  models  have  been  recently 
erected  in  Flushing  and  Whitestone,  and  plans  are  under  way  for  equally 
fine  school  buildings  in  Bayside  and  College  Point.  All  these  are  thor- 
oughly up-to-date  as  to  sanitation,  ventilation  and  heating. 

The  curriculum  of  studies  in  all  these  schools  is  substantially  the 
same  as  the  course  of  studv  prescribed  bv  the  Board  of  Education 
for  New  York  City  and 
by  the  University  of 
the  State  of  New  York 
for  the  State  schools. 
The  graduates  take  the 
Regents  Examinations 
which  qualify  them  for 
entrance  into  High 
School.  In  College 
Point  the  Dominican 
Sisters  also  conduct  a 
High  School,  St. 
Agnes,  approved  by 
the  Regents,  and  have 
had  marked  success  in 
their  work  during  the 
past  ten  years. 

The  attendance  at 
these  parish  schools  has 
kept  pace  with  the  rapid  growth  of  population  in  Queens  Borough, 
and  has  necessitated  the  building  of  these  new  and  larger  school  struc- 
tures. The  attendance  figures  for  the  scholastic  year  1915-1916  were 
as  follows:  St.  Michaels,  Flushing  655;  St.  Fidelis,  College  Point,  560; 
St.  Lukes,  Whitestone,  190;  St.  Agnes,  College  Point,  110. 


New  Catholic  School  at  Whitestone 


23 


FLUSHING  FROM  A  SANITARY 
STANDPOINT 

By  JOHN  H.  BARRY,  M.D.,  Asst  Sanitary  Superintendent, 
Borough  of  Queens,  New  York  C*Xp 


FLUSHING  occupies  from  a  public  health  and  sanitary  standpoint  a 
rather  unique  position.    It  is  the  centre  of  well-ordered  homes  and 
high-minded  public-spirited  citizens,  living  with  keen  regard  for 
their  own  healthfulness  and  a  conscientious  care  for  their  neighbors' 
comfort  and  well-being. 

It  has  at  the  same  time  been  tributary  to  some  grave  health  perils 
all  of  which,  it  is  most  comforting  to  report,  are  in  the  process  of  efface- 
ment  or  control. 

The  Brooklyn  Ash  Removal  Company  have  now  been  working  eight 
years  on  filling  in  the  Corona  and  Flushing  meadows,  and  four-fifths  of 
the  work  can  now  be  properly  said  to  have  been  performed.  Three  hun- 
dred acres  have  been  filled  with  a  mean  depth  of  15  to  18  feet.  About 
eighty  acres  remain  to  be  filled.  And  whilst  some  distress  and  dis- 
comfort to  Flushing's  people  may  have 
been  occasioned  thereby,  much  of  the 
graver  huge  mosquito  peril  has  been 
eliminated  and  will  within  one  and  one- 
half  years  be  entirely  effaced.  The 
Degnon  Contracting  Company's  work 
immediately  adjoining  on  the  north 
has  been  conducted  quite  free  of 
nuisance  and  will  contribute  a 
large  quota  in  the  matter  of 
eradicating  another  extensive 
tract  of  mosquito-breeding 
land  (278  acres). 

The   long  open,  highly  of- 
fensive,  sewer  trench  at  the 
foot  of  Grove  St.  is  now  hap- 
pily a  thing  of  the  past.    It  has 
been  changed  in  its  course  by 
the  construction  of  the  Nathan 
Manufacturing  Co.'s  plant  and 
piped,  a  distance  of  1,015 
feet  by  corrugated  48- 
inch  metal  piping  down 
to  the  Creek  outlet,  and 
a  branch  of  500  feet  of 
24-inch  metal  piping. 

The  boxing  of  Myrtle 
Ave.  open  sewer  for  part 
of  its  length,  some  few 
years  ago,  was  a  highly 

24 


Kissena  Lake  Views 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


desirable  and  efficient  piece 
of  work,  and  its  full  extension 
to  the  Creek  outlet  is  eager- 
ly and  expectantly  contem- 
plated. Sites  are  being 
sought,  and  appropriation 
made  therefor,  for  a  modern 
garbage  destructor  on  the 
outskirts  of  Flushing,  which 
will  relieve  the  necessity  of 
disposing  of  garbage  in  the 
crude,  insanitary  way  of 
using  same  to  fill  the  neigh- 
boring lowland. 

Thanks  to  the  most  as- 
siduous care  and  thought 
given  to  the  Gutman  Swamp  The  Niantic  ciub 

proposition  by  our  Commis- 
sioner of  Health,  Dr.  Haven  Emerson,  contracts  have  been  already 
awarded  for  the  piping' and  drainage  of  these  129  acres  of  inundated  land 
down  to  Flushing  Creek,  well  to  the  rear  of  the  Forest  Hills  section,  and 
this  highly  desirable  and  most  important  work  will  be  shortly  accom- 
plished by  assessment  upon  the  benefited  property  owners.  The  cost  is 
$24,000  and  the  time  limit  of  contract  120  days. 

There  is  every  reasonable  hope  and  expectation  that  Flushing — 
one  of  the  garden  spots  of  Queens — will  go  on  unfettered  and  unham- 
pered by  the  health  perils  which  had  surrounded  it,  a  place  to  live,  to 
thrive,  and  to  glory  in. 


25 


Women's  Organizations  of  Flushing 

By  ISABEL  S.  SMITH,  President,   The  Good  Citizenship  League  of  Flushing 


THE  women's  organizations  of  Flushing  are  numerous — 15,  irre- 
spective of  the  many  church  societies. 

The  Flushing  Female  Association  was  organized  February  7, 
1814,  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  W.  Lawrence,  Willowbank,  on 
Lawrence  Avenue,  by  a  group  of  women,  most  of  them  in  the  quaint 
costume  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  The  object  was  to  discuss  the  situ- 
ation of  the  poor  children 
of  the  neighborhood  whose 
parents  were  not  able  to 
give  them  an  education  and 
who  were  in  danger  of  be- 
ing led  into  vice  and  im- 
morality. At  this  home  the 
foundation  of  the  first  free 
school  in  Flushing  was  laid. 
The  Association  was  incor- 
porated in  1884.  Industrial 
classes,  sewing,  carpentry, 
chair  caning  and  cooking 
have  been  supported  for 
many  years.  Classes  have 
been  conducted  for  adults 
during  several  winter  ses- 
sions. Two  clubs,  one  for 
men  and  one  for  boys,  were 

organized  in  the  winter  of  1912-1913.  The  work,  begun  on  the  simplest 
lines  when  Flushing  was  a  village,  has  been  continued  with  varied 
methods  to  suit  circumstances  and  conditions,  but  the  purpose  of  the 
Founders  and  Testators  has  been  faithfully  respected  and  administered. 

The  Ladies'  Employment  Society  was  organized  in  1866 — its  ob- 
ject to  furnish  sewing  to  the  needy,  worthy  women  of  Flushing  during 
the  winter  months.    The  work  of  this  Society  has  been  and  is  carried  on 

by  the  active 
cooperation  o  f 
ladies  from  all 
Christian  de- 
nominations in 
the  village. 
Cloth,  bought 
a  t  t  h  e  lowest 
wholesale  rates, 
is  cut  by  the 
ladies  into  gar- 
ments for  wo- 
men and  chil- 
dren  and  sold 

sjelter  .\       .  to  the  poor  at 

House  '  j^,.      n  '  4 

(Small  Oval) 


The  Good  Citizenship  League  Building 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Residence  Wm.  H.  Walker 


bare  cost  of  material. 
For  many  years 
garments  to  be  made 
have  been  sent  to 
Flushing  from  various 
benevolent  institutions 
in  New  York  and  other 
cities,  cut  out  and 
ready  to  give  to  the 
women.  Thousands  of 
garments  are  made 
every  year  and  return- 
ed to  the  institutions 
ready  for  immediate 
use. 

The  Good  Citizen- 
ship League  is  a  de- 
partmental, democratic,  civic  club  with  a  membership  of  275  women. 
Organized  26  years  ago,  by  a  group  of  earnest  and  enthusiastic  women 
who  met  in  the  old  Free  Library,  its  object  is  to  bring  together 
those  who  earnestly  desire  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  humanity 
and  by  education  and  cooperation  obtain  increased  power  for  usefulness. 
One  of  its  fundamental  principles  is  freedom  of  speech  and  freedom  of 
opinion.  The  League  is  non-partisan  and  non-sectarian.  It  was  incor- 
porated in  1891,  with  51  charter  members,  and  shortly  thereafter  all 
charitable  organizations  of  Flushing  united  their  efforts,  and  a  few 
months  later  the  United  Workers,  the  League's  eldest  daughter,  was 
born.  Regular  meetings  are  held  on  alternate  Tuesdays.  Some  of  the 
League's  activities  include  printing  and  distributing  of  the  law  against 
cigarette  smoking,  successful  establishment  of  Free  Kindergarten  for 
colored  children,  demand  for  paid  agent  to  prevent  cruelty  to  animals, 
preservation  of  trees,  protection  of  birds,  investigation  of  causes  and 
prevention  of  mosquito  pest,  safeguarding  purity  of  water  supply,  closing 

of  shops  at  an  early 
hour,  and  lecture 
courses,  managed  and 
financed  for  many 
years,  of  great  value  to 
the  community. 

The  League  early 
joined  the  General 
Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs,  and  in  1895  as- 
sisted in  forming  the 
New  York  State 
Federation.  In  the 
League's  second  year 
a  nucleus  was  created 
^^^^EBKm  for  a  Building  Fund, 
and  in  the  third  year  a 

27 


A   New  Residence 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Reflections  at  Oakland  Lake 


Committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  consider 
ways  and  means.  On 
the  10th  of  December, 
1901,  the  League  held 
its  first  meeting  in  its 
own  handsome  build- 
ing. 

Forming  of  a  His- 
torical Society,  Study 
of  and  financial  assist- 
ance to  Child  Labor 
Movement,  endorse- 
ment of  work  of  Con- 
sumers' League,  help 
given  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association 
in  its  work  for  sol- 
diers, nursing  aid  rendered  in  Spanish  War,  prompt  and  generous  as- 
sistance to  San  Francisco  Relief  Work  and  originating  plans  for  a  Public 
Playground  in  Flushing — these  are  all  a  part  of  the  League's  record. 

During  the  past  6  years  the  League  has  continued  to  grow  and 
broaden  in  usefulness  and  power,  giving  its  generous  support  and  co- 
operation to  all  charitable,  philanthropic  and  civic  organizations  of 
Flushing  and  loyal  service  to  the  community.  The  League  Building 
is  given  free  on  Tuesday  nights  for  Community  dances,  under  proper 
chaperonage,  for  the  young  people  of  Flushing.  The  Good  Citizenship 
League  members  are  responding  to  the  many  calls  of  duty  and  service 
made  necessary  by  the  war  and  have  revealed  their  splendid  spirit  of 
cooperation  and  loyalty.  The  Club  House  is  given  free  for  all  patriotic 
meetings  when  needed.  League  members  purchased  over  $24,000  of 
Liberty  Bonds,  and  nearly  all  are 
working  in  the  Red  Cross  Society. 

The  United  Workers,  organized  in 
1892,  is  supported  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions, gifts,  and  members  dues. 
Their  motto  is  "to  help  the  poor  to 
help  themselves,"  "not  a  charity,  just 
a  helping  hand."  It  is  non-sectarian 
and  the  committees  are  composed  of 
representatives  from  all  the  churches. 
The  various  departments  under  the 
head  of  the  United  Workers  are :  Day 
Nursery,  Friendly  Visitors,  Carpet  and 
Rug  Industry  and  Clothing  Sales.  A 
very  comfortable  home  has  been  pro- 
vided at  30  Monroe  Street  through  the 
generosity  of  one  of  its  members.  The 
Day  Nursery  accomplishes  a  wonderful 
work.    Every  morning  scores  of  little 

28 


Residence  Walter  I.  Willis, 
Secretary  Queens  Chamber  of  Commerce 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


children  are  brought  to  the  Nursery  and  are  nourished  and  cared  for  all 
day  by  competent  women  while  their  mothers  are  employed  outside. 
The  mothers  pay  5  cents  per  day  for  each  child.  The  Nursery  is  im- 
maculate and  in  perfect  order. 

OTHER  CLUBS. — The  Green  Twigs  is  a  society  of  young  women 
deservedly  popular  for  their  many  good  deeds  and  splendid  work  accom- 
plished. For  a  number  of  years  the  Flushing  Hospital  has  been  very 
materially  helped  by  their  generous  contributions. 

The  Flushing  Committee  of  the  Women's  League  for  National 
Service  is  well  organized  and  efficient. 

The  Park  Garden  Club  and  the  Mothers'  Club  are  doing  wonderful 
work.  Also  the  Neighborhood  Club,  Equal  Franchise  Society,  Girls' 
Community  Club,  and  others  of  equal  importance.  There  is  work  in 
abundance  for  each  to  do. 


Flushing  is  indeed  an  ideal  place  for  the  ideal  home  and  offers 
unusual  opportunities  for  willing  active  service  and  a  useful  helpful  life. 


Broadway  Country  Club 

29 


THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  THIRD  WARD 
OF  THE  BOROUGH  OF  QUEENS 

By  MAURICE   E.    CONNOLLY ,  President   of   the  Borough   of  Queens, 
City  of  New  York 


NO  one  can  question  the  wonderful  future  of  the  Borough  of  Queens. 
Within  the  greatest  city  in  the  world,  and  composing  one-third 
of  the  entire  territory,  it  is  only  a  question  of  days  when  the  flood 
of  settlement  will  turn  this  way,  and  the  gain  in  population  will  be 
enormous.  The  Third  Ward  of  the  Borough  of  Queens  is  in  the  infancy 
of  its  development,  and  although  the  progress  of  the  last  ten  years  has 
been  great,  it  can  hardly  be  in  keeping  with  the  progress  that  must  come 
when  all  our  many  plans  begin  to  bear  fruition.  The  great  problem 
confronting  us  to-day  is  to  provide  homes,  factory  sites  and  the  many 
improvements  necessary  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  great  inrush 
of  population  which  is  about  to  take  place.  This  moment  in  the  Bor- 
ough's development  may  be  called — "The  Dawn  of  Rapid  Transit."  The 
Subway-"L"  trains  are  now  running  almost  to  the  doors  of  Flushing. 
The  Public  Service  Commission  is  at  present  drawing  up  an  agreement 
with  the  railroad.  Before  another  year  rapid  transit  trains  should  be 
operated  through  Flushing  over  the  tracks  of  the  Long  Island  Railroad, 
one  branch  to  Whitestone,  the  other  to  Little  Neck. 

The  meadowland  on  the  westerly  shore  of  Flushing  Bay  is  being 
filled,  and  along  both  shores  of  the  Flushing  Bay  and  River  there  will 
soon  be  located  many  large  industries  and  factories.  The  site  offers 
almost  ideal  conditions,  there  being  rail  and  boat  connections,  and  a  large 
local  population  from  which  to  draw  labor.  This  will  result  in  a  tremen- 
dous increase  in  population,  for  the  people  who  work  in  the  factories  will 
undoubtedly  reside  in  the  territory  immediately  back  of  the  waterfront. 

What  this  industrial  development  means  for  Flushing  is  already 
conspicuously  shown  by  the  recently  constructed  large  plant  of  the 
Nathan  Manufacturing  Company,  which  employs  about  2,000  operatives. 

The  Zoning  Plan  extends  to  Flushing  and  vicinity.  This  Act  con- 
fines the  location  of  industrial  development.  No  interference  with  the 
existing  high-class  developments  of  the  Village  of  Flushing  or  of  any 
of  the  other  villages  in  the  Third  Ward  can  take  place. 

Local  organizations  have  succeeded  in  persuading  the  Legislature 
to  enact  a  Law  permitting  the  acquisition  of  title  to  lands  needed  for 

30 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


widening-  and  straightening  Flushing  River.  This  will  permit  the  Gov- 
ernment to  proceed  with  its  plans  for  dredging  the  entire  river. 

The  Third  Ward,  with  its  125  miles  of  improved  roads,  many  of 
them  lined  with  large  shade  trees,  has  become  a  veritable  paradise  for 
motorists.  These  roads  connect  with  the  excellent  highways  of  the  rest 
of  Queens  and  Nassau  County. 

Realizing  the  necessity  of  further  connecting  the  old  Village  of 
Flushing  with  that  of  Whitestone,  proceedings  have  been  instituted 
to  extend  Central  Avenue,  Flushing,  to  join  Seventh  Avenue,  White- 
stone.  Actual  construction  of  this  much  needed  street  may  soon  be 
initiated. 

The  completion  of  the  Topographical  Maps  is  of  considerable  im- 
portance to  Flushing  and  the  Third  Ward.  This  will  be  appreciated, 
when  it  is  realized  that  no  public  improvements  can  be  installed  prior 
to  the  adoption  of  the  Final  Maps  of  the  section. 

Although  Flushing  is  well  provided  with  sewers  for  present  use,  it 
is  necessary  to  look  forward  into  the  future,  and  drainage  plans  have 
been  prepared  to  take  care  of  the  6,400  acres  of  outlying  farmland,  allow- 
ing for  the  extensive  growth  in  the  older  sections  where  existing  sewers 
will  become  inadequate. 

In  order  to  meet  the  future  growth  of  the  Third  Ward  it  is  proposed 
to  construct  a  new  garbage  and  refuse  incinerator. 

At  the  present  time  the  policy  of  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Appor- 
tionment is  to  go  slow  with  public  improvements,  with  which  policy  I 
am  in  thorough  accord,  so  far  as  public  improvements  which  are  not 
vitally  necessary  to  the  health,  welfare,  and  convenience  of  the  com- 
munity are  concerned,  for  at  the  present  time  construction  costs  are  ex- 
tremely high.  Flowever,  there  are  some  things  which  are  so  urgently 
needed  for  the  health  of  the  people,  or  the  proper  development  of  the 
Borough,  that  the  advantages  derived  outweigh  the  excessive  costs.  The 
construction  of  sewers  is  pre-eminently  a  case  in  point,  and  I  shall  at  all 
times  urge  the  advancement  of  sewer  construction  as  rapidly  as  the 
necessary  authorization  of  funds  can  be  obtained  from  the  Board  of 
Estimate  and  Apportionment. 

The  Third  Ward  may  well  feel  proud  over  its  future,  and  I  hope  that 
I  will  not  be  considered  improvident  if  I  urge  that,  discounting  its  pros- 
perity, we  handle  our  civic  problems  in  such  a  way  as  to  foster  and  not 
strangle  the  natural  growth  that  should  follow. 

31 


"TO  KNOW  FLUSHING'S  TREES  IS 
TO  LOVE  THEM" 

Says  JOHN  E.  WEIER,  Commissioner  of  Parks,  Borough  of  Queens, 
New  York  City 


NO  city  in  the  United  States  has  more,  or  more  beautiful,  or  a  greater 
variety  of  trees  than  Flushing.    The  site  of  the  first  tree  nursery 
established  in  America  before  the  Revolution,  this  early  effort  is 
to-day  still  bearing  fruit  and  will  continue  to  be  reflected  in  years 
to  come. 

Lovers  of  trees  from  all  over  the  United  States  visit  Flushing  for 
a  sight  of  some  of  the  more  famous  specimens.  Of  these,  the  giant  Cedar 
of  Lebanon,  one  of  the  few  of  its  kind  in  the  country,  is  the  most  widely 
known.  Of  this  wonderful  specimen,  no  less  an  authority  than  Dr. 
Britten  of  the  Botanical  Gardens  in  the  Bronx  has  said:  "It  alone  is 
worth  a  trip  to  Flushing  from  any  distance."  A  seedling  obtained  from 
beneath  it  is  now  being  raised  in  the  Botanical  Gardens  in  the  Bronx. 

In  no  other  city  so  far  north  is  to  be  found  the  Southern  Cypress, 


Residence  and  Lawn  of  James  A.  Macdonald 

32 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


withstanding  the  climate  of  the  Eastern  seacoast  in  this  latitude  and 
thriving  about  as  well  as  in  the  land  farther  south.  The  finest  specimens 
of  giant  elms  are  to  be  found  both  in  the  streets  and  upon  private 
grounds,  according  to  the  United  States  Government  authorities.  The 
great  weeping  beech  in  Washington  Place,  under  whose  sheltering  shade 
a  lawn  party  can  be  held  and  a  hundred  tables  placed,  is  another  wonder- 
ful tree  known  to  foresters  throughout  the  land. 

A  sample  of  the  primeval  oak  which  has  withstood  the  storms  of  a 
thousand  years,  is  to  be  found  on  the  grounds  of  the  home  of  Ellis  Parker 
Butler.  Years  ago  its  companion  was  destroyed.  Those  who  endeavored 
to  ascertain  its  age  grew  tired  when  they  had  counted  eight  hundred  and 
forty  rings.  The  record  of  its  long  life  was  revealed  only  when  the  trunk 
had  been  sawed  through. 

To  attempt  to  tell  of  the  beauties  of  Flushing's  trees  in  a  few  hun- 
dred words  is  akin  to  endeavoring  to  describe  the  glorious  golden  sunset 
of  an  autumn  day  in  a  single  phrase.  To  know  Flushing's  trees  is  to 
love  them.  One  has  to  be  among  them  and  each  day  brings  a  new  joy 
to  the  tree  lover  who  has  this  privilege. 


A  Flushing  War  Garden 

33 


1,000  ACRES  IN  FLUSHING  BAY 
RECLAIMED  FOR  FACTORY  SITES 

APARTMENT  HOUSES  IN  FLUSHING  PROFITABLE 
Bp  JOHN  J.  HALLERAN,  Commissioner  of  Taxes,  City  of  New  York 


THE  New  Zoning  Law,  recently  adopted  by  the  city,  is  a  permanent 
guarantee  that  Flushing  will  retain  its  reputation  as  one  of  New 
York  City's  oldest  and  most  highly  developed  residential  com- 
munities and  grow  in  the  favor  of  those  who  seek  the  right  place  to 
reside  or  secure  substantial  investment  in  suburban  real  estate. 

The  geographical  location  and  transit  facilities,  together  with  the 
low  land  values,  are  Flushing's  best  assets.  By  comparison  with  a  given 
center — say  34th  Street,  42nd  Street  or  59th  Street,  Manhattan,  I  know 
of  no  other  section  of  Greater  New  York  that  offers  the  same  opportuni- 
ties to  the  home  seeker,  builder  and  investor  that  Flushing  offers.  The 
varying  prices  at  which  land  can  be  bought  will  suit  every  purse.  Suit- 
able sites  for  modest  homes  can  be  bought  as  low  as  $300  a  lot.  This 
land  is  high  and  dry 
and  within  reasonable 
distance  by  train  and 
trolley  to  Manhattan. 
There  are  other  plots 
better  located  that  can 
be  bought  for  $500  and 
$600  a  lot.  Plots  in  the 
restricted  sections  of 
Flushing  run  to  value 
as  high  as  $3,500  per 
lot. 

These  plots  are  now 
available  for  a  new 
use  —  for  the  erection 
of  apartment  houses. 
This  type  of  building 
will,    in    my  opinion, 

Show   a    new   and   prof-  Type  of  New  Apartment  House  in  Flushing 

itable  use  for  suburban 

lands  for  residential  purposes.  It  will,  without  doubt,  show  a  new  earn- 
ing power  for  the  land.  This  has  been  well  demonstrated  by  the  erec- 
tion of  a  few  apartment  houses  in  Flushing,  where  the  rent  per  room  is 
equivalent  in  return  to  that  of  similar  buildings  in  other  parts  of  the 
city  on  land  that  costs,  in  some  cases,  three  or  four  times  the  price  at 
which  Flushing  plots  can  now  be  had. 

Many  such  plots  are  to  be  had  in  the  old  and  new  parts  of  Flushing, 
adjacent  to  the  stations  of  the  Long  Island  Railroad,  with  electric  trains 
to  Pennsylvania  Station. 


34 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Part  of  1,000  Acres  of  Meadows  Reclaimed  for  Factory  Sites. 


FACTORIES  ON  FLUSHING  BAY 

Flushing  has  the  most  promising  future  of  any  section  in  Greater 
New  York  from  a  commercial  standpoint.  It  is  one  of  the  few  land- 
locked harbors  in  the  Greater  City.  Available  for  commercial  uses  are 
about  1,000  acres  of  land  surrounding  and  fronting  on  Flushing  Bay  and 
Flushing  River.  When  it  is  considered  that  this  great  body  of  water  is 
within  10  miles  of  City  Hall  and  about  5  miles  over  the  Queensboro 
Bridge  to  the  heart  of  Manhattan,  that  it  is  supported  by  the  great  Penn- 
sylvania-Long Island-New  York  connecting  railroad  system  and  the 
Terminal  of  the  new  State  Barge  Canal,  one  may  easily  picture  a  great 
commercial  future  for  the  Flushing  water  front. 

The  bed  of  Flushing  Bay  is  now  being  deepened  for  the  Degnon 
Contracting  Company,  which  owns  most  of  the  adjoining  lands.  It  is 
the  Degnon  intention  to  deepen  the  Bay  to  give  35  feet  of  water  and  to 
develop  the  surrounding  lands  for  factory  purposes  with  water  and  rail 
connections  with  the  great  railroads  of  the  country. 

Recent  legislation  enacted  permits  the  City  and  Federal  govern- 
ments to  widen  and  deepen  Flushing  River  to  its  headwaters.  These  im- 
provements will  give  water  transportation  through  Flushing,  Corona, 
Forest  Hills,  Richmond  Hill  and  Jamaica,  and  incidentally  will  increase 
the  frontage  of  Flushing  River  in  the  Flushing  section  about  two  miles. 
Flushing  and  vicinity  enjoy  the  same  freight  rate  as  New  York  City. 

Immediate  improvement  of  the  Barge  Terminal  on  Flushing  Bay  is 
being  urged  by  the  Queens  Chamber  of  Commerce,  to  relieve  the  freight 
congestion  of  the  Port  of  New  York.  Plans  for  the  Flushing  Bay  Ter- 
minal are  being  prepared  by  Frank  M.  Williams,  State  Engineer  and 
Surveyor,  and  it  is  hoped  the  Flushing  Terminal  will  be  ready  in  the 
Summer. of  1918,  when  the  State  Barge  Canal  System  is  to  be  in  opera- 
tion. 


35 


BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  COI 


THE  INDUSTRIAL -MANUFACTURING 


COLLEGE  POINT  is  essentially  a  manufacturing  town — the  indus- 
trial center  of  the  Flushing  District.    It  is  an  old  settlement  like 
Flushing  and  Whitestone,  both  of  which  it  immediately  adjoins 
on  Flushing  Bay,  and  like  both  it  is  rich  in  its  possession  of  old  trees 
and  old  houses.    It  has  many  fine  modern  residences,  too;  and  even  the 

proximity  of  its  scores  of  factories 
doesn't  seem  to  spoil  its  charm  as 
one  of  New  York  City's  pretty  home 
suburbs.  Here  Mac  Neil,  the  sculptor, 
pursues  his  art;  nearby,  at  Malba,  John 
McGraw,  of  baseball  fame,  is  erecting 
a  costly  edifice  in  which  to  spend  his 
declining  years  enjoying  the  trophies 
and  emoluments  he  has  earned  by  his 
mastery  of  the  great  American  game. 
Many  men  important  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Greater  City  live  here  and  like  it. 
In  fact,  something  like  15,000  happy 
and  contented  substantial  American 
citizens  make  up  the  sum  total  of  its 
population.  Its  factories  employ  be- 
One  of  the  Public  Schools  tween  five  and  six  thousand  persons, 


36 


SUBWAY  TO  NEW  YORK  CITY 

LONG  ISLAND  R„  R. 


UNDER  THE  METROPOLITAN 
FREIGHT  RATES 


TROLLEY  TO  NEW  YORK  CITY 

S50  ACRES 
SUITABLE  FOR 
MANUFACTURING 


35  FT.  WATER 


STATE  BARGE 


GE  POINT  — FLUSHING 


ENTER  OF  THE  FLUSHING  DISTRICT 


most  of  whom  live  here,  though  a  good  many  come  each  day  from  the 
Bronx  and  other  nearby  points. 

College  Point-Flushing — thus  the  old  town  is  beginning  to  be  called, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  space  of  less  than  a  mile  between  the  two 
villages  is  a  part  of  each  claiming  immediate  industrial  development,  and 
also  because  of  a  certain  community  of  interest  between  these  two  chief 
centers  of  the  Third  Ward  of  Queens  Borough. 

By  studying  the  above  bird's-eye-view  illustration  one  sees  why 
College  Point-Flushing  should  be  an  excellent  place  to  live  and  do  busi- 
ness in.  Nearly  surrounded  by  water,  on  high  rolling  land,  the  residence 
portion  is  from  50  to  100  feet  above  sea  level  and  affords  superb  views 
and  cooling  summer  breezes,  while  the 
lower  lands  are  strategically  located 
are  successful  manufacturing.  The  550 
acres  shown  on  the  map  are  destined 
within  a  few  years  to  become  covered 
with  industrial  and  distributing  plants 
such  as  now  line  the  Brooklyn  and 
Jersey  water  -  fronts.  The  College 
Point-Flushing  water-front  is  declared 
to  be  one  of  the  finest  within  100  miles 

Of  New  York  City.  Public  Library 


37 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


First  Avenue,  College  Point— Flushing 


College  Point  derives  its  name  from  the  establishment  of  a  college 
here  in  1826.  There  was  quite  a  settlement  at  this  time,  and  manufac- 
turers noting  the  many  facilities  offered  them  located  their  plants  here. 
Here  Goodyear,  the  discoverer  of  the  process  of  making  hard  rubber, 
began  his  experiments  with  Conrad  Poppenhusen,  who  is  commonly 
known  as  the  founder  of  College  Point — which  continues  to  be  the  home 
of  the  hard  rubber  industry  of  the  United  States. 

Conrad  Poppenhusen  was  a  man  of  marked  ability  and  of  distin- 
guished humanitarian  impulse.  A  worthy  disciple  of  Peter  Cooper, 
whom  he  sought  to  emulate,  this  hard-working,  broad-minded,  progres- 
sive German  by  an  endowment  for  a  substantial  sum  founded  a  technical 
school  for  training  in  the  commercial  arts  and  trades  —  Poppenhusen 
Institute.  The  Institute  occupies  a  commodious  building  and  has  devel- 
oped and  trained  many  thousands  of  young  men  and  women  in  useful 
pursuits.  Its  yearly  roster  of  students  numbers  nearly  500,  and  its 
curriculum  embraces  free-hand  drawing  and  design,  life  drawing, 
mechanical  drawing,  architectural  drawing,  algebra  and  shop  mathe- 
matics, woodworking,  cabinet  -  making,  bookkeeping  and  penmanship, 
shorthand  and  typewriting,  civil  service  training,  gymnastics,  dressmak- 
ing and  embroidery.  Its  miscellaneous  activities  comprise  singing  and 
dancing  classes,  modern  playground  with  instructor,  Boy  Scouts  Troop 
and  Students  Clubs  and  Committees.  Poppenhusen,  in  whose  memory 
the  citizens  of  College  Point  have  erected  an  imposing  monument  in  the 
Park  named  in  his  honor,  was  a  man  of  many  civic  achievements.  He 
laid  out  the  wide,  beautiful  streets  of  College  Point,  paved  them,  built 
water  and  gas  mains  and  sewers;  and  to-day  these  public  utilities  are 
second  to  none  in  the  Borough  of  Queens.    For  a  fact,  College  Point  has 


38 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


more  improvements  to  the  square  block  than  has  any  other  outlying 
section  of  Greater  New  York  to  the  square  mile.  Poppenhusen  also 
founded  the  local  Savings  Bank,  which  has  deposits  exceeding  one  and 
a  half  million  dollars. 

College  Point  has  churches  of  all  denominations,  and  its  educational 
advantages  are  many.  In  addition  to  its  own  splendid  public  and  Cath- 
olic schools  and  the  Poppenhusen  Institute,  the  Flushing  High  School 
is  only  15  minutes  by  trolley. 

In  transportation  —  freight  and  passenger  —  College  Point  is  well 
served.    The  Pennsylvania-Long  Island  Railroad  enters  into  its  heart; 
the  New  York  and  Queens  trolley  line  runs  through  the  town  double- 
tracked  all  the  way  to  59th  Street  and  Second  Avenue,  Manhattan,  direct 
without  change  in  45  minutes  for  a  five-cent  fare;  the  Dual  Subway 
System,  as  stated  on  page  5  in  the  opening  article  of  this  book,  is  to  be 
extended  in  1918  from  Corona,  where  it  now  ends  in  Queens  Borough, 
through  Flushing  to  College  Point,  Malba,  Whitestone  and  Beechurst, 
and  will  run  from  Times  Square,  or  down-town,  New  York,  to  College 
Point  in  less  time  than  to  the  Bronx  or  Washington  Heights ;  the  fast, 
clean  electric  service  of  the  Long  Island  Railroad  now  takes  one  to 
Pennsylvania  Station,  Manhattan,  in  less  than  half  an  hour  many  times 
a  day  on  a  monthly  commutation  of  $7.40;  and  two  ferries  operate  to 
Manhattan  and  one  to  the  Bronx.    In  addition  to  rail  freight  via  the 
Pennsylvania  -  Long   Island,   under  the   Metropolitan   Freight  Rates, 
Flushing  Bay  affords  a  depth  of  from  20  to  35  feet  of  water  for  sea- 
going   vessels,    and  the 
State  Barge  Terminal  of 
the  Erie  Canal  is  to  be 
constructed  at  the  town's 


bulk     Or     rehandling,     all  Poppenhusen  Monument 

39 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


tonnage  carried  by  the  great  Erie  Canal  System  —  things  vital  to  a 
manufacturing  community,  such  as  the  raw  products  of  the  field,  the 
forest  and  the  mine.  The  Erie  Canal  will  bring  to  College  Point  direct 
brick,  lumber,  building  and  construction  materials,  steel,  grain — in  fact, 
whatever  may  be  loaded  at  the  Great  Lakes  ports  or  en  route  on  the 
1,000-ton  barges  of  the  Erie  Canal  System.  And  when  College  Point 
gets  all  these  raw  materials  at  the  lowest  possible  transportation  charge 
it  will  refine  and  manufacture  many  of  them  into  commodities  that 
it  can  send  forth  at  the  lowest  rates  to  other  less  favored  Eastern 
communities. 

The  pay-rolls  of  the  College  Point  factories  are  said  to  total  a  sum 
larger  than  that  for  any  other  section  of  Greater  New  York,  based  on 
population.  One  reason  is  that  labor  conditions  here  are  excellent ;  that 
wages  paid  are  fair;  that  strikes  and  lockouts  are  unknown,  and  that 
workers  are  satisfied  both  with  home  life  and  factory  job.  Typical  of 
the  College  Point  manufacturers'-workingmen's  mutality  of  interest  is 
the  record  of  the  American  Hard  Rubber  Company.  This  concern  has 
been  established  here  over  sixty  years,  employs  over  1,000  and  has  never 
had  a  single  strike  or  lockout.  Some  record !  The  big  reason,  besides 
the  spirit  of  fairness  shown  by  employers,  is  simply  that  the  factory 
people  of  College  Point  have  nice,  comfortable  homes,  enjoy  them,  are 
congenial,  get  along  with  their  employers  and  with  themselves,  are 

well  paid  —  in  short,  are 
satisfied  with  their  lot. 

There  are  few  vacant 
houses  in  College  Point, 
or  for  that  matter  in  any 
part  of  the  Flushing  Dis- 
trict. Herein  lies  an  op- 
portunity for  the  inves- 
tor or  housebuilder.  Of 
course,  owing  to  condi- 


Dutch  Reformed  Church 
and   Sunday  School 

tions  resultant  from  the 
War,  building  costs  at  the 
moment  are  comparative- 
ly high,  but  statistics  for 
this  section  of  Queens 
Borough  show  steady 
construction  and  increases 
over  previous  years. 


St.  Fredel's  Catholic  Church 


40 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Residence  of  John  W.  Rapp,  President  of  Empire  Art 
Metal  Co. 


Houses  are  sold  or 
satisfactorily  rented  as 
soon  as  put  up.  The 
present  need  is  for 
moderate-priced 
detached  houses,  two- 
and  three-family  houses 
and  modern  housekeep- 
ing walk-up  flats.  Any 
or  all  of  these  types  of 
houses  will  pay  the 
builder  or  investor,  and 
necessary  land  favor- 
ably located  maybe 
had  at  reasonable  fig- 
ures. W  hat  Commis- 
sioner of  Taxes  John  J. 
Halleran  has  to  say  in 
his  article  in  another 
part  of  this  book  ap- 
plies to  College  Point 
just  as  much  as  it  does 

to  Flushing — perhaps  more  so  on  account  of  the  much  larger  number  of 
factory  workers  at  College  Point. 

Manufacturing  at  College  Point  is  varied.  Many  rubber  companies 
operate  plants  here ;  the  Mynepho  Silk  Mills  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  its 
kind  in  the  country ;  the  Empire  Art  Metal  Works  make  the  fireproof 
doors  and  other  trim  that  are  used  in  buildings  like  the  Woolworth ; 
Kleinert  has  produced  millions  of  the  dress  shields  one  sees  pictured  in 
street-car  advertisements ;  paints,  dyes  and  chemicals  are  mixed  and 
developed  here ;  and  now  whirrs  the  recently  constructed  L.  W.  F. 
Engineering  Com- 
pany's aeroplane  plant, 
where  six  hundred  men 
are  building  standard- 
ized craft  to  help  win 
the  world's  air  battles 
for  the  U.  S.  A. 

College  Point  is  a 
busy  place  —  a  very, 
very  busy  place  just 
now.  But  immense  as 
its  industries  w  o  u  1  d 
seem  to  Goodyear  and 
Poppenhusen,  could 
those  old  pioneers  be 
alive  to  see,  College 
Point  as  a  factory  cen- 
ter to-day  will  seem 
trifling  a  dozen  years 


Residence  of  Wm.  B.  Baumert, 

41 


the  Cheese  Manufacturer 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Residence  of  Edward  J.  Mordaunt 


hence,  when  its  550 
acres  of  meadow  lands 
on  Flushing  Bay  have 
been  built  over  with 
plants  of  the  kind  that 
more  and  more  are  in- 
evitably finding  their 
way  to  the  metropolis 
of  the  American  con- 
tinent. College  Point 
is  an  integral  part  of 
this  great  world-city  of 
New  York,  7l/2  miles 
from  Manhattan,  with 
an  unrivalled  portion  of 
New  York's  limited 
water-front,  with  un- 
excelled residential 
facilities,  equitable  la- 
bor conditions  and  ample  sources  of  labor  supply,  freight  and  passenger 
transportation  now  satisfactory  and  soon  to  be  unsurpassed.  Its  com- 
mercial destiny  will  be  achieved  shortly  and  made  manifest,  simply 
because  it  cannot  be  ignored  or  avoided.  Manhattan,  Brooklyn,  the 
Bronx  and  the  Jersey  shore  are  commercially  over-crowded.  Practically, 
only  Staten  Island — isolated — and  College  Point-Flushing  and  one  or 
two  other  Long  Island  points — accessible — remain  to  be  developed  for 
water-front  manufacturing  locations  that  will  size-up  to  metropolitan 
and  national  requirements. 

As  a  bit  of  prophecy,  the  reader  is  asked  to  lay  aside  this  book  for 
ten  years  and  then  compare  this  portrayal  of  College  Point-Flushing 

conditions  as  they  now 
exist  with  those  of  a 
decade  hence.  It  is 
pretty  safe  to  say  that 
the  two  old  mansions, 
pictures  of  which  are 
printed  with  this  article 
— the  Stratton  and 
Graham  homesteads  — 
that  to-day  stand  as 
landmarks  on  the  trol- 
ley line  between  Col- 
lege Point  and  Flush- 
ing will  long  since  have 
disappeared,  and  in 
their  places  and  on 
their  surrounding  acres 
will  have  risen  many 
beautiful,  modern  resi- 

Residence  of  Louis  Denes,  the  Silk  Manufacturer  dences    and  apartment 

42 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


houses,  and  that  the 
meadows  some  distance 
away  will  havebeen 
covered  with  manufac- 
turing plants  all  the 
way  from  the  hills  to 
the  waters  of  Flushing 
Bay. 

Walking  from  one 
part  of  College  Point  to 
another  one  is  agree- 
ably astonished  at  the 
fact  that  all  streets  are 
of  asphalt — splendidly 
graded,  smooth  as  glass 
and  clean  as  those  of 
the  proverbial  Spotless 
Town. 

At  noon  time,  till  the 
one  o'clock  whistle  blows,  the  different  avenues  are  alive  with  men  and 
women  workers  from  the  factories,  many  of  whom  go  to  their  homes  for 
lunch.  The  factory  operatives  of  College  Point-Flushing  are  happy,  con- 
tented and  thrifty.  The  buildings  they  work  in  are  roomy  and  airy. 
Vital  statistics  for  College  Point  show  a  low  death  rate  and  a  remarkably 
fine  state  of  public  health. 

The  unusually  large  deposits  of  the  Savings  and  other  banks  bear 
silent,  yet  most  eloquent,  testimony  to  the  thrift  of  the  people  and  their 
remunerative  work. 

THEIR  WELL  APPOINTED  HOMES. 

Mr.  Harry  Kleinert,  manager  of  the  I.  B.  Kleinert  Rubber  Company, 
employing  over  70C| 
persons,  states  that  his' 
company  in  over  thirty 
years  of  existence  has 
never  had  a  strike,  but 
that  on  the  contrary  he 
has  found  great  pleas- 
ure and  profit  in  devis- 
ing and  carrying  out 
plans  for  the  bettering 
of  both  factory  and  liv- 
ing conditions  for  those 
on  his  payroll.  And 
this  is  true  of  practical- 
ly all  employers. 

Mr.  John  W.  Rapp, 
President  of  the  Em- 
pire Art  Metal  Com- 
pany,   IS,    perhaps,    en-  Residence  of  Morris  Straus,  the  Lawyer 

43 


Residence  of  Jacob  Cohen,  Supt.,  Empire  Art  Metal  Co. 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


titled  to  be  called  the 
"1  i  v  e  wire"  manufac- 
turer and  booster  of 
College  Point-Flush- 
ing. He  is  dynamic — 
physically  and  mental- 
ly. Alert,  vigorous, 
broad-minded  and  pub- 
lic-spirited, he  has  led 
in  the  successful  cam- 
paigns to  secure  for 
College  Point-Flushing 
the  State  Barge  Canal 
Terminal,  Subway  Ex- 
tension, deepening  of 
the  harbor,  improved 
public  utilities  and 
other  progressive 
works.     His   faith  in 


Residence  of  Wm.  W.  Weitling,  Treasurer  of  American 
Hard  Rubber  Co. 


The  Stratton  Homestead — 
Flushing    Bay    in  Background 

ness  here.  Mr.  Rapp 
has  also  given  much 
thought  and  study  to 
the  question  of  future 
building"  of  homes  for 
not  only  his  own  800 
factory  employees  but 
for  those  of  other  con- 
cerns also,  so  that  Col- 


the  future  of  the  Col- 
lege Point-Flushing 
water  front  is  founded 
on  years  of  careful 
study  of  New  York's 
port  facilities  and 
needs,  and  a  number  of 
years  ago  he  backed  up 
his  judgment  by  locat- 
ing his  own  large  busi- 


The  Graham  Homestead — over  200  years  old 

44 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


lege  Point-Flushing  may  continue  to  be  known  as  a  beautiful  home  town 
of  contented  workers  that  keeps  abreast  of  modern  ways  of  living. 

The  following  table  gives  a  list  of  factories  now  operating  at  College 
Point-Flushing,  their  chief  products  and  the  numbers  of  their  employees: 


Manufacturer 

American  ard  Rubber  Co  

Autopress  Co  

Julius  Brandes  Manf.  Co.... 

R.  A.  Weber  Dye  Works  

Empire  Art  Metal  Co  

I.  B.  Kleinert  Rubber  Co  

Traun  Rubber  Co  

L.  W.  F.  Eng  Co  

Beacon  Falls  Rubber  Shoe  Co 

Rainier  Motor  Truck  Co  

Frankan  &  Co  

Chilton  Paint  WTorks  

Kraemer  Bros  

College  Point  Boat  Works.  .  .  . 

Mynepho  Silk  Mills  

Hunter  Illum'd  Car  Sign  Co.. 

Ventilation  Co.,  Inc  

J.  H.  Gerlach  Co  

Eureka  Rubber  Co  

College  Point  Engineering  Co. 

National  Chain  Co  

Harmon  Color  Works  

British-American  Chem.  Co.  .  . 

International  Oxygen  Co  

12  Small  Factories  


No.  of 


Product  Employees 

.Hard  Rubber  Goods  1,000 

.Printing  Presses   300 

.Silk  Ribbons   150 

.Dyestuffs    150 

Metal  Doors,  Sash  &  Trim   800 

.  Dress  Shields,  etc   700 

.Rubber  Goods   400 

.Aeroplanes    600 

Tennis  Shoes   500 

Auto  Trucks   350 

Smoking  Pipes   50 

Paints  and  Varnishes   100 

Woodworkers    50 

Boat  Builders   400 

Silk  Ribbons   350 

Car  Signs   100 

Ventilators,  etc   25 

Blank  Books   25 

Raincoats,  etc   100 

Machine  Shop   50 

Chains,  etc   350 

Dyestuffs    10 

Medical  Chemicals   250 

Oxygen    50 

Printers,  Clothiers,  etc   200 


Full  information  as  to  manufacturing  possibilities,  resi- 
dential features  and  extensive  water  front  properties  in  College 
Point-Flushing  may  be  had  by  writing  or  telephoning  Mr.  E. 
E.'Suydam,  Second  Avenue  and  Ninth  Street,  College  Point- 
Flushing,  New  York  City.    Telephone,  Flushing  1,000. 


45 


OUTDOOR  SPORTS-FLUSHING 
ATHLETES 


By  FRED.  J.  V.  DEL  ANY,  A.  A.  U.  Commissioner  for  Long  Island 


FLUSHING  has  always  been  noted  athletically  for  its  ability  to  turn 
champions.  Since  1900,  when  Maxwell  W.  Long  flashed  his  light 
upon  the  horizon,  the  old  town  has  sent  them  right  along  spotlight 
careers.  Among  the  world  stars  are :  Long,  who  holds  many  records 
for  distances  from  100  yards  to  quarter  mile ;  Ike  Messer,  running  on 
the  Irish  A.  A's  Cross-Country  Team,  won  the  Metropolitan  Champion- 
ship in  1914;  Howard  Valentine,  now  athletic  writer  for  the  N.  Y. 
Globe,  half  mile  champion  of  America  in  1903-'04;  Robert  Crawford, 
18  years  old,  Flushing  High  School,  greatest  high  school  runner  in  the 
Interscholastic  world  and  U.  S.  champion  at  cross-country;  Donald  J. 
Gleason,  Xewton  High  School,  all  around  athlete  and  sprinter;  George 
Hughes,  now  letter-man  at  Cornell,  champion  hurdler  and  the  stroke 
of  Wahnetah  Boat  Club ;  and  Robert  Crawford,  Captain  of  Flushing 
High  Track  Team,  won  every  race  he  entered  in  1916-T7,  including 
meets  with  Cornell,  Pennsylvania  and  Columbia  Universities. 

Two  other  boys,  now  prominent  in  business  and  politics,  William 
T.  Yale,  real  estate  operator,  and  Charles  U.  Powell,  Chief  Engineer, 
Topographical  Bureau,  Borough  of  Queens,  were  champions  in  their 
day, — the  former  being  Cornell  University's  champion  hurdler,  and  the 
latter  Captain  of  the  Cornell  Track  Team  in  1898  and  Intercollegiate, 
American,  Metropolitan  and  Canadian  High  Jump  Champion. 

On  Washington's  Birthday,  1917,  the  5  mile  run  championship  of 
Long  Island,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Shinnecock  Club  of  Flushing, 
was  won  by  Charlie  Pores  of  College  Point,  who  has  since  added  to 
his  long-distance  laurels. 

The  greatest  athletic  event  ever  held  in  Flushing  was  the  Decora- 
tion Day  Games  of  the  Shinnecock  Club  in  1915.  The  program  com- 
prised hurdling,  javelin  throwing  and  running,  etc.,  and  brought  together 
about  300  of  the  best  known  athletes  of  America — such  as  Kiviat,  Mc- 
Grath,  Filer  and  Baker  the  half  mile  champion  runner  of  the  U.  S.  and 
England.    More  than  10,000  people  saw  the  contests. 


Wahnetah  Boat  Club  Champion  Eight.    Won  American  Henley  at  Philadelphia,  1910 
Photograph  Taken  on  Flushing  Bay 


46 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


The  clubs  that  are  most  prominent  in  sports  are  the  Triangle  of 
Flushing,  Wahnetah  Boat  Club  of  Flushing,  Flushing  Boat  Club, 
Malba  Field  and  Marine  Club,  Warlow  of  Whitestone,  College  Point 
Lyceum,  Broadway  Country  Club,  Broadway-on-the-Hill  Tennis  Club, 
and  the  Shinnecock  Club.  These  are  all  taking  up  athletics  in  various 
directions,  but  the  real  representative  club  of  the  Amateur  Athletic 
Union  is  the  Shinnecock  which,  since  joining  the  A.  A.  U.  in  1915,  has 
from  time  to  time  promoted  road  races  and  cross-country  runs  open 
to  the  A.  A.  U. 

THE  WAHNETAH  BOAT  CLUB  succeeded  the  old  Nerius 
organization  in  1897.  It  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  best  rowing  associa- 
tions in  the  country.  In  1910  its  eight  crew  won  the  American  Henley 
on  the  Skulkill  River  (Phila.)  against  the  country's  finest  crews,  and  on 
Decoration  Day,  1910,  Wahnetah  eight  won  again  at  the  Harlem  River 
Course.  Among  the 
Club's  coaches  have 
been  such  famous 
oarsmen  as  John 
Morrissey  and  John 
Fitzpatrick,  now  as- 
s  i  s  t  a  n  t  coach  at 
Princeton  Uni- 
versity. More  re- 
cently the  trainer  of 
the  eight  crew  has 
been  David  Roach, 
Champion  Single 
Sculler  of  the  U.  S. 

Thomas  F.  Cleary 
was  Captain  of  the 
Crew  for  14  years, 
and  to  him  much 
credit  is  due  for  the 
club's  rowing  pre- 
eminence. 

The  Brooklyn 
Daily  Eagle  every 
year  at  the  event  of 
the  Long  Island 
Rowing  Association 
donates  a  large  silver 
cup  to  be  competed 
for,  by  Long  Island 
crews  only,  in  a  four 
shell  race.  Wahne- 
tah, by  winning  the 
races  in  1910-'11-'12, 

.  i  Shinnecock  Club  Meet 

now     Owns     tne  Ike  Messer   winning  One-Mile  Run  Handicap 

trophy.  jack  Eller,  World's  Champion  Hurdler 

47 


FLUSHING  BIRTHPLACE  OF  BOY 
SCOUT  IDEA 

By  DANIEL  CARTER  BEARD,  National  Scout  Commissioner 


UNDER  the  shade  of  the  wonderful  Flushing  trees,  here  in  the  old 
town  of  Flushing,  the  Boy  Scout  idea  was  originated  and  was  born- 
It  was  in  1905  that  the  late  William  Annis  of  Flushing,  busi- 
ness manager  of  the  Recreation  Magazine  went  to  his  editor,  also  a 
Flushing  man,  with  the  request  that  he  get  up  some  scheme  to  interest 
the  boys.  The  result  was  the  birth  of  the  Boy  Scout  idea,  and  the  first 
Boy  Scout  in  the  world  is  the  son  of  the  gentleman  who  was  acting  as 
assistant  editor  at  that  time,  Mr.  Carl  Ackerman,  now  with  the  Frank 
Seaman  Advertising  Company  of  New  York. 


Boy  Scouts  of  Flushing — Under  Command  of  the  Late  City  Magistrate  Joseph  Fitch 


It  was  not  until  1908  that  the  famous  English  General  Baden-Powell 
started  the  English  Boy  Scouts.  But  a  year  previous  to  that  time,  in 
1907  Colonel  Theodore  Roosevelt,  also  a  Long  Island  man,  and  at  that 
time  President  of  the  United  States,  endorsed  the  Boy  Scout  Movement 
started  by  the  editor  of  Recreation. 

At  the  suggestions  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Admiral 
Dewey,  Major-General  Bell  and  Gifford  Pinchot  also  endorsed  the  Move- 
ment. With  these  distinguished  men  backing  the  infant  society  was  the 
late  Colonel  Cody,  John  Muir  and  John  Burroughs.  This  was  one  year 
previous  to  the  organization  of  the  English  Boy  Scouts  and  two  years 
after  the  Boy  Scouts  had  been  started  here  in  America.    To  Flushing, 

48 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


quaint  old  Flushing,  conservative  Flushing,  belongs  the  honor  and  the 
credit  of  originating  and  launching  the  greatest  boys  crusade  ever 
launched  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

The  Boy  Scouts  local  organization  of  Flushing  was  organized  in  the 
National  Scout  Commissioner's  studio  on  Bowne  Ave.  by  Mr.  C.  A. 
Worden,  Mr.  Boardman  of  the  National  headquarters,  Park  Commis- 
sioner Weier  and  the  late  Judge  Fitch,  assisted  by  Scout  Commissioners 
Clinton  Smith  and  A.  H.  Spence.  In  this  work  and  the  work  of  selecting 
a  council  from  Flushing  people  they  were  greatly  assisted  by  suggestions 
from  Mrs.  D.  C.  Beard. 

The  Flushing  scouts  were  a  success  from  the  start.  Judge  Fitch 
became  so  enthusiastic  over  his  boys  that  he  declined  all  high  offices  in 
the  scout  movement,  because  he  said  he  wanted  to  be  a  scoutmaster  and 
"be  next  to  the  boys  themselves",  whom  he  loved  so  well.  We  now 
have  in  Flushing  200  splendid  troops,  including  a  Jewish  troop  and  the 
colored  troop  of  which  Scoutmaster  Hicks  is  the  leader. 

The  success  of  the  Flushing  Boy  Scouts  is  due  to  the  splendid  en- 
thusiasm, vigorous  and  conscientious  work  of  the  fine  men  we  have  in 
the  positions  of  commissioners  and  scoutmasters.  The  Boy  Scouts  of 
Flushing  is  something  in  which  the  business  men  of  Flushing  take  just 
pride.  They  form  a  group  of  boys  of  which  Long  Island  may  well  be 
proud. 

Hon.  G.  Howland  Leavitt  is  President  and  Albert  H.  Spence  Dis- 
trict Commissioner. 


THE  CAMP  FIRE  GIRLS  OF 
FLUSHING 

By  Miss  CAROLYN  A.  FREEMAN,  Guardian 


AMP  Fire  Girls  is  an  organization  of  girls  and  women  to  develop 
the  home  spirit  and  make  it  dominate  the  entire  community. 


It  is  a  means  of  organizing  a  girl's  daily  home  life.  It  shows 
that  romance,  beauty  and  adventure  are  to  be  found  on  every  hand  and 
in  wholesome  way;  that  the  daily  drudgery  may  be  made  to  contribute 
to  this  beauty  of  living.  It  gives  girls  interesting  and  wholesome  things 
to  do  together.  It  deliberately  intends  to  promote  happy  social  life. 
It  uses  beautiful  ceremonies,  has  an  appealing  ritual  and  bases  rank  and 
honor  upon  personal  attainment.  There  are  attractive  ceremonial  cos- 
tumes, honor  beads  and  decorations.  It  interprets  daily  things  in  terms 
of  poetry,  symbolism,  color  and  imagination.  Each  group  of  girls  over 
twelve  years  old  is  called  a  Camp  Fire.  The  responsible  head  of  a  Camp 
Fire  is  called  Guardian  of  the  Fire.    She  is  appointed  by  the  National 


A  Council  of  the  Camp  Fire  Girls  in  Flushing  Woods 
50 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Board.  The  Camp  Fire  Girls  have  three  ranks :  Wood  Gatherer,  Fire 
Maker  and  Torch  Bearer.  Ceremonial  meetings  are  held  monthly. 
At  this  meeting  honors  are  awarded,  rank  is  conferred  and  new  members 
are  received.  Weekly  meetings  are  held  to  help  the  girls  formulate  their 
daily  work.  Often  these  meetings  are  held  in  conjunction  with  a  hike 
and  the  study  of  nature  lore. 

Camp  Fire  stands  not  only  for  the  home,  but  also  for  the  genuine- 
ness and  simplicity  of  the  out-of-doors. 

The  Camp  Fire  movement  was  started  in  Flushing  in  May,  1915,  by 
a  few  girls  who  asked  Miss  Carolyn  A.  Freeman  to  be  their  Guardian. 
A  group  of  ten  girls  formed  and  called  themselves  the  Matinicoe  Camp 
Fire,  named  after  the  Matinicoe  Indians  who  settled  on  Long  Island  in 
the  early  days. 

During  November  of  1915  an  open  Council  Fire  was  held  in  the 
chapel  of  the  First  Methodist  Church,  the  idea  being  to  give  the  general 
public  an  outline  of  what  the  work  was.  Nearly  100  people  attended 
this  Council  Fire.  About  this  time  Miss  Beatrice  Kennedy  was  asked 
to  start  a  group  with  12  girls — the  Seawanhaka  Camp  Fire.  At  present 
there  are  seven  groups  with  about  75  girl  members  in  Flushing. 

The  local  organization  participates  in  all  local  patriotic  parades  and 
demonstrations  held  in  Flushing,  and  has  done  a  great  deal  of  charitable 
work.  Fifty  dollars  has  just  been  raised  for  the  Flushing  Chapter  of 
the  American  Red  Cross  by  a  moving-picture  show  given  by  all  the 
little  groups ;  another  time  an  individual  group  raised  money  for  the 
Company  I  fund  that  was  gotten  up  while  this  Flushing  National  Guard 
Regiment  was  at  Camp  Whitman.  And  recently  this  same  group 
made  Baby  Kits,  which  were  given  to  the  needy  families  of  Flushing. 


51 


52 


THE  GIRL  PIONEERS  OF  AMERICA 

By  Miss  UNA  BEARD 


FOUNDED  in  Flushing  by  Miss  Lina  Beard  in  1912,  the  Girl  Pioneers 
of  America  has  become  National  in  its  scope  and  a  true  sister  to 
the  Boy  Scouts  of  America.    Its  inspiration  and  name  are  derived 
from  the  early  settlers  of  America.    The  pioneer  attributes  of  sturdy 
independence,  staunch  uprightness  and  indomitable  courage  are  being 
taught  and  developed  in  its  members. 

The  Girl  Pioneer  is  always  patriotic,  and  now  in  this  time  of  stress 
and  war  she  has  qualified  to  render  active  service  and  give  practical  first 
aid  for  her  Country.  She  knows  how  to  do  hospital  and  home  sewing 
invalid,  camp  and 
home  cooking; 
plants  and  raises 
vegetables ;  cares 
for  infants  and  lit- 
tle children ;  gives 
all  necessary  local 
information  such 
as  where  to  find 
hospitals,  drug 

lief  in   cases  of   famine,   earthquake,  floods,   fires,   or  other  disasters. 

The  watch  word  of  the  Girl  Pioneer  is  I  CAN. 
Her  pledge,  "I  will  speak  the  truth  at  all  times, 
I  will  be  honest  in  all  things. 
I  will  obey  the  Pioneer  law." 

The  Girl  Pioneers  have  their  banners,  Pioneer  sign,  ceremony  of 
initiation  and  membership  certificate;  their  rallies,  field  days  and  other 
.  general  meetings  indoor  and  out.    They  have  their  official  cheer  and 
song,  and  each  Band  and  each  group  has  a  cheer  of  its  own. 

The  principles  of  the  Girl  Pioneers  are  not  merely  lip-practice  pre- 
cepts, but  are  realized  in  real  work  and  in  the  delightful  activities  of 
the  movement. 

The  Girl  Pioneers  of  America  is  governed  by  an  Executive  Board, 
of  which  Miss  Beard  is  the  head,  and  there  is  a  National  Council  made 
up  of  prominent  men  and  women.   The  ranks  are  open  to  all  girls. 

For  those  with  children  who  contemplate  moving  to  Flushing,  the 
Girl  Pioneers,  together  with  the  Camp  Fire  Girls  and  the  Boy  Scouts 
elsewhere  described,  offer  free  courses  of  beneficial  training  and  a  lot 
of  good  fun  and  play  for  boys  and  girls. 


stores,  railroad 


stations,  police 
headquarters, 
serves  in  signal- 
ing, carrying  mes- 
sages, etc.  And  in 
times  of  peace 
Girl  Pioneers 
stand  ready  to  as- 


sist in  giving  re- 


53 


THE  FLUSHING  HOSPITAL  AND 
DISPENSARY 

By  A.  DOUGLAS  NASH,  Secretary 


FLUSHING  is  justly  proud  of  its  Hospital.    Its  equipment  is  equal 
to  the  best  in  New  York.    Its  foundation  is  due  to  the  work  of 
The  Art  Class  of  Flushing  and  other  prominent  Flushing  women. 
The  Hospital  conducts  a  Training  School  for  Nurses,  and  over  125  have 
graduated  from  the  Institution.   Living  accommodations  for  pupil  nurses 
was  solved  in  1908  by  the  erection  of  the  Nurses'  Home. 

By  1912  the  growth  of  the  Hospital,  which  serves  not  only  Flushing 
but  the  neighboring  villages,  necessitated  a  new  building.  A  whirlwind 
campaign  netted  $109,349  and  was  a  supreme  test  of  the  friendship 
of  the  people  of  Flushing  and  Allied  Towns  for  the  Hospital.  This  sum 
was  insufficient,  and  $30,000  were  obtained  on  mortgage  to  complete 
the  present  Hospital.  One  hundred  and  twenty  patients  were  accommo- 
dated, and  there  are  thirteen  private  rooms. 

With  the  expansion  of  the  Hospital  came  increased  expenses,  so 
in  1913  the  Aid  Association  held  a  Circus  and  Carnival,  in  1914  a  Cam- 
paign for  Annual  Subscriptions  was  conducted,  and  in  1916  another 

money-raising  effort  to 
provide  needed  funds 
for  operation. 

An  institution  of  this 
character  must  be  sup- 
ported by  the  commun- 
ity. No  hospital  ever  ex- 
isted which  could  get 
along  without  such 
support.  Still  the 
books  show  that  the 
Flushing  Hospital 
earned  $53,590,  in  1916, 
but  the  expenses  for 
that  year  were  $81,288. 

Plans  for  the  coming 
years  are  upon  a  scale 
commensurate  with  the 
rapid  growth  of  the 
Flushing  district,  but 
large  sums  will  be  re- 
quired and  the  money 
will  no  doubt  be  loyal- 
ly contributed  by  the 
community  which  is  so 
well  served  in  times  of 
The  Flushing  Hospital  illness  and  accidents. 


54 


THE  MEN'S  CLUBS  OF  FLUSHING 


THE  MEN'S  SOCIETY  OF  THE  FIRST  CONGREGATIONAL 
CHURCH  of  Flushing  was   organized   December  15,  1908.  Its 
purpose  is  "to  make  the  church  more  effective  by  undertaking  such 
responsibilities  in  the  work  of  the  church,  for  the  community,  and  for 
the  world,  as  may  appear  appropriate."    The  membership  is  150. 

The  Society's  activities  have  comprised  a  Social  Survey  of  Flushing ; 
initiating  movements  for  suppression  of  evil  dance-halls  and  for  opening 
of  Public  Library  on  Sunday  afternoons;  cataloguing  and  photograph- 
ing Flushing's  trees  and  presenting  these  photographs,  together  with 
photographs  of  unsightly  spots  needing  attention  before  a  mass  meeting 
of  the  civic  associations  and  public  schools ;  support  of  public  playground 
in  Murray  Hill  section ;  conduct  of  public  meetings  on  civic  matters. 
The  Society  is  a  member  of  and  special  contributor  to  the  Associated 
Charities.  It  has  been  addressed  by  New  York's  Mayor  and  City  de- 
partment heads,  by  General  Wood,  Ex-President  Taft  and  other  cele- 
brities. One  of  its  best  works  was  the  inauguration  of  the  movement 
for  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  Flushing. 

THE  MEN'S  CLUB  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  of  Flush- 
ing was  organized  about  fourteen  years  ago  and  has  now  more  than 
200  active  members.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  and  largest  of  such  organ- 
izations in  the  Borough  of  Queens  and  indeed  in  the  City  of  New  York. 
It  has  never  missed  a  regular  meeting,  and  has  been  singularly  fortunate 
in  the  number  of  distinguished  men  who  have  appeared  before  it.  It 
includes  in  its  membership  men  of  every  communion  and  of  no  com- 
munion. It  is  not  distinctively  a  religious  organization  but  places  its 
main  emphasis  upon  fellowship.  The  idea  that  it  embodies  is  that  one 
of  the  best  places  for  forming  and  cultivating  friendships  is  within  the 
walls  of  the  Church. 

ST.  GEORGE'S  BROTHERHOOD,  organized  in  1870  and  incor- 
porated in  1871,  has  nearly  50  members.  The  object  of  the  Brotherhood 
is  quite  different  from  that  of  most  men's  clubs  organized  by  churches. 
It  has  from  the  start  been  a  working  organization,  carrying  out  its  duties 
through  committees.  Monthly  meetings  are  held  for  business  purposes. 
The  Brotherhood  has  taken  an  active  part  in  missionary  operations  that 
have  made  St.  George's  the  mother  of  many  churches.  Its  field  has 
extended  from  College  Point  to  the  village  of  Queens.  It  supports  a 
mission  Chapel  on  Bowne  Avenue  and  a  Club  House  on  Colden  Avenue 
open  for  men  every  evening.  Members  of  the  Brotherhood  also  super- 
intend the  work  among  boys  that  is  carried  on  in  the  Parish  House,  and 
act  upon  various  parochial  committees. 


By  MAYNARD  H.  SPEAR 


55 


PARK  GARDEN  CLUB  OF  FLUSHING 

By  Mrs.  JOHN  W.  PARIS 


"The  kiss  of  the  sun  for  pardon, 

The  song  of  the  birds  for  mirth, 
One  is  nearer  God's  heart  in  a  garden 

Than  anywhere  else  on  earth" 

(Inscription  on  an  old  garden  seat.) 

THE  Park  Garden  Club  of  Flushing  was  organized  in  April,  1914,  as 
a  neighborhood  club,  with  30  members. 

Within  three  months  after  organization  inquiries  were  re- 
ceived from  all  parts  of  Flushing  and  vicinity  as  to  our  plan  of  work 
and  requirements  for  membership. 

The  interest  has  continued  growing  until  now  our  active  member- 
ship, limited  to  one  hundred,  is  closed.  Associate  membership  is  un- 
limited. The  object  of  the  club  is  to  help  those  who  love  gardens  to 
make  them  more  beautiful;  to  stimulate  interest  in  cooperative  garden- 
ing; to  aid  in  the  protection  of  native  plants  and  birds;  to  encourage 
civic  planting  and  to  study  in  all  its  aspects  the  fine  art  of  gardening. 

Quoting  from  one  whose  life  has  been  spent  among  gardens  and 
garden  interests,  "a  garden  is  as  much  the  expression  of  an  idea  as  a 
painting,  a  symphony,  or  a  poem." 

The  club  gave  the  first  Flower  show  ever  held  in  Flushing  on 
September  27,  1915,  in  the  Public  Library.  The  interest  and  attendance 
exceeded  expectations.    A  Rose  Show  in  June  and  a  Dahlia  Show  in 

September  were  the  fea- 
tures of  1916.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1917,  the  Garden 
Club,  realizing  the  seri- 
ousness of  the  food  situa- 
tion and  the  necessity 
of  reducing  the  high 
cost  of  living,  decided 
to  devote  its  time  and 
energy  to  directing  the 
Home  Garden  Movement. 
Arrangements  were  made 


with  the  College  of  Agri- 
culture at  Farmingdale, 
Long  Island,  for  a  course 
of  study  in  Practical 
Gardening  for  the  Home. 
Experts  on  the  different 
subjects  were  sent  us  to 
teach  this  course. 

When    the  National 


League    for    Woman's  A  Corner  of  the  Garden  of  Mrs.  John  W.  Paris 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Old  Elms  on 
Jackson  Ave. 
(Lower) 


Service  was  organized, 
in  March,  and  Flushing 
decided  to  work  as  a 
unit,  the  Garden  Club 
was  asked  to  take  charge 
of  the  agricultural  and 
gardening  part  of  the 
work. 

This  being  a  commun- 
ity work  in  which  all 
civic  associations  should 

take  part,  the  Flushing  Home  Gardens  Committee  was  organized  to 
carry  on  this  work. 

The  committee  is  composed  of  all  the  business  and  civic  organiza- 
tions, and  many  individuals. 

Hundreds  of  individual  gardens  have  been  planted  and  many  acres 
planted  in  potatoes,  corn  and  larger  crops. 

Vacant  lots  and  waste  places  of  the  community  have  been  trans- 
formed into  Neighborhood  Food  Gardens  where  men,  women  and 
children  are  each  doing  their  bit.  Lessons  on  Canning  and  Preserving 
Fruits  and  Vegetables  began  in  June. 

Gardens  are  rapidly  becoming  as  popular  and  as  necessary  a  part 
of  the  home  in  Flushings  as  they  are  in  Europe. 

Long  Island  has  a  very  interesting  history  agriculturally. 

Many  years  ago  noted  scientists  of  Europe,  after  years  spent  in 
investigation,  reported  that  there  were  only  two  places  in  the  earth 
where  climate  conditions  were  perfect  for  the  growing  of  vegetation. 
One  of  these  was  the  southermost  part  of  Japan,  the  other  Long  Island. 
Never  since  the  planting  of  the  Orient  Point  region  in  1642  has  a  crop 
been  wiped  out  by  drought." 

Flushing  with  its  great  wealth  of  rare  trees,  shrubs  and  plants  of 
all  varieties,  second  to  none,  has  proven  this  is  a  veritable  garden  spot. 

A  fit  setting  for  the  homes  of  garden  lovers  and  all  interested  in 
the  beautiful  things  of  life. 

57 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  OLD  FLUSHING 


ONE  by  one  the  old  estates  of  Flushing  have  been  broken  up  to 
make  way  for  modern  homes  for  modern  people.   The  transforma- 
tion was  very  slow — the  old  estates  died  hard.    But  the  people  of 
New  York  were  destined  to  have  their  place  in  the  sun — and  in  the 
shade  of  a  mellow  old  town  like  Flushing. 

One  of  the  last  to  go  was  the  Wallace  homestead  of  15  acres,  in  the 
very  center  of  Flushing's  best  residential  section.  Mr.  J.  W.  Doolittle, 
who  recently  developed  a  fine  residential  suburb — Douglaston  Park  near 
Flushing — out  of  rough,  hilly,  wooded  Long  Island  land,  secured  control 
of  this  property.  He  opened  macadamed  streets,  put  in  sewers,  water, 
gas  and  electricity  and  other  city  conveniences.  He  has  been  successful 
in  disposing  of  many  plots  in  Waldheim  to  leading  men  of  Flushing, 
Long  Island  City  and  Manhattan,  simply  because  he  "had  the  goods." 
And  these  buyers  have  built  fine  homes,  some  of  them  shown  here. 

The  "show"  streets  of  Flushing,  containing  the  finest  residences,  lawns 
and    trees    are    Bowne     Avenue,   Sanford  Avenue,    Parsons  Avenue 


Ash  Street,  Waldheim-Flushing 

58 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


and  old  Broadway — now 
Jackson  Avenue.  Wald- 
heim  immediately  ad- 
joins the  first  three  ave- 
nues named.  A  glance 
at  the  accompanying 
outline  map  will  show 
its  exact  location,  ar- 
rangement and  accessi- 
bility to  Long  Island 
Railroad   station  and 

Big  Trees  Abound  in  Waldheim  the   trolley  Hnes 

Rather  than  attempt  to  word-picture  Waldheim  as  one  of  the  choicest 
and  most  charming  of  Flushing's  residential  sections  for  homes  for  the 
well-to-do — which  it  is — I  prefer  to  print  herewith  the  businesslike  and 
truthful  statement  given  to  me  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Doolittle,  whose  office  is 
in  the  Woolworth  Building,  New  York: 

WALDHEIM  FACTS 

"Waldheim"  means  A  Home  in  the  Woods,  and  it  is  properly  so 
called  on  account  of  the  immense  shade  trees  on  all  the  lots. 

LOCATED  between  Parsons  and  Bowne  Avenues,  extending  from 
Ash  Street  to  Cypress  Avenue,  inclusive,  it  is  in  the  very  center  of  Old 
Flushing,  seven  minutes  walk  to  Main  Street  or  Murray  Hill  Station 
on  the  L.  I.  Railroad. 

Two  lines  of  trolley,  to  New  York  and  Jamaica,  are  within  two 
short  blocks. 

Churches,  schools,  shops,  etc.,  nearby,  and  yet  a  restricted  residential 
park  of  the  highest  type. 

Winding  paved  roads,  with  all  street  improvements,  including 
sewers,  and  no  future  assessments  for  these  improvements  as  they  have 
been  paid  for. 

Quality  assured  by  careful  restrictions  and  the  handsome  residences 
already  built,  owned  and  occupied  by  leading  business  and  professional 
men  of  Flushing  and  New  York  City. 

Houses  now  built  range  in  value,  including  land,  from  $7,500  to 
$40,000.  Land  can  still  be  purchased  as  low  as  $1875  for  a  lot  with  fifty 
feet  of  street  frontage.    Houses  can  be  constructed  from  $5,000  up. 

59 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


Every  house  in  Waldheim  has  been  designed  to  suit  its  individual 
location.    Xo  speculative  building  has  ever  been  done  there. 

The  J.  W.  Doolittle  Organization,  which  controls  this  property, 
offers  to  home  seekers  an  opportunity  of  securing  a  home  in  this  beautiful 
park  under 

"THE  SINGLE  CONTRACT  PLAN" 

which  enables  the  purchaser  to  choose  the  site  and  have  a  house  built 
according  to  his  individual  taste,  as  this  organization  is  equipped  to 
plan,  finance,  build  and  turn  the  completed  property  over  to  the  customer 
under  one  contract  and  permits  one  to  enjoy  home  ownership  with  but 
a  small  cash  payment. 


The  J.  W.  Doolittle  Organization  has  solved  the  home  problem  for 
many  in  its  properties  at  Douglaston,  L.  I.,  as  well  as  in  Waldheim. 


60 


SEASHORE  AND  COUNTRY  COMBINED 


Once  part  of  old 
Flushing  Township, 
Malba  -  on  -  the  -  Sound 
comprises  a  beautiful 
section  of  Long  Island 
shore  and  wooded  land. 
Malba  Station  on  the 
Long  Island  Railroad 
is  reached  from  Penn- 
sylvania Station,  New 
York,  in  26  minutes  by 
electric  train. 

Malba  land  is  un- 
dulating, and  golf  vies  with  bathing,  boating  and  yachting  in  popularity. 
On  the  golf  course  of  the  Malba  Field  and  Marine  Club  many  tourna- 
ments are  held. 

Natural  landlocked  harbor  with  deep  water  anchorage,  a  mile  of 
shore  front,  700  foot  pier  with  landing  dock  and  pier  house,  tree-lined 
drives  and  avenues  winding  gracefully  between  beach  and  upland,  com- 
bine to  make  a  strong  appeal  to  those  who  desire  a  country  home  on 
Long  Island  Sound  within  easy  reach  of  the  City's  business,  shopping 
and  theatre  centers.  Here  many  prominent  New  York  business  men 
own  homes  costing  from  $7,500  to  $60,000. 

Landscape  architects  have  beautified  this  bit  of  shore  upland,  and 
improvements  represent  more  than  $2,000,000. 

Within  the  City  of  New  York,  Malba  enjoys  city  facilities — side- 
walks, macadamized  roads,  gas,  water  and  electricity,  mail  delivery  and 
police  and  fire  protection.  The  stores  and  schools  of  Flushing  and 
Whitestone  are  nearby. 

Purchasers  of  plots  will  be  financed  to  build  their  homes  according 
to  their  own  ideas,  or  houses  already  constructed  may  be  secured  upon 
monthly  payments  equivalent  to  rent  and  a  small  initial  payment.  Malba 
offices  are  upon  the  property  and  in  the  Astor  Building,  217  Broadway, 
New  York. 


MALBA  ESTATES  CORPORATION 


61 


GOLF  AND  COUNTRY  CLUBS  IN 
QUEENS  BOROUGH 


BECAUSE  of  natural  advantages  and  accessibility  the  Flushing-Bay- 
side-Little  Neck-Great  Neck  district  has  been  carefully  considered 
and  chosen  as  the  home  and  playing  ground  of  a  number  of  New 
York's  leading  golf  and  country  clubs,  among  them  being  the  Oakland 
Golf  and  the  Bayside  Golf  clubs  at  Bayside,  the  Great  Neck  Golf  Club 
at  Great  Neck  and  the  Flushing  Country  Club  at  Flushing.  These  and  the 
other  clubs  here  have  proved  very  successful.  Their  memberships  com- 
prise men  prominent  in  society  and  business,  in  the  professions  and  in 
finance  and  politics.  Each  has  its  authorized  membership  filled,  and  the 
waiting  lists  are  long  ones.  They  have  become  very  exclusive  organiza- 
tions. And  the  same  situation  exists  in  other  sections  of  Long  Island  as 
in  Westchester  and  New  Jersey.  There  are  to-day  probably  more  per- 
sons of  Greater  New  York  playing  golf  by  courtesy  arrangement  on  the 
well-known  private  and  public  courses  and  in  the  city's  parks  who  are 
not  members  of  any  club  owning  its  own  grounds  than  there  are  members 
of  such  ownership  clubs.  Various  associations,  perhaps,  a  score  or  more, 
such  as  the  Hardware  Club,  the  Advertising  Men's  Club,  the  Traffic  Club, 


ft 


Oakland  Country  Club — Bayside 

62 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


etc.,  are  alien  players  by  special  privilege.  Recently  the  Engineers  Golf 
Club  of  New  York  became  an  ownership  playing  club  by  buying  its  own 
land  on  Long  Island  at  Roslyn,  a  few  miles  from  Flushing. 

In  these  times  of  financial  and  business  uncertainty,  when  security 
of  investment  is  the  prime  requisite,  the  attention  of  capitalists  and  large 
operators  and  promoters  is  directed  to  the  possibilities  of  certain  large 
bodies  of  land  exceptionally  located  and  suitable  for  Golf  and  Country 
Clubs  in  the  Flushing  District  of  Queens  Borough,  which  the  under- 
signed control,  and  which  will  be  sold  upon  terms  that  will  enable  the 
formation  of  new  golf  and  country  clubs,  or  which  will  be  leased  there- 
for upon  attractive  terms,  or  which  may  be  secured  by  option  to  purchase 
for  a  term  of  years  hence. 

The  opportunity  now  exists  to  organize  groups  of  professional  men, 
doctors,  lawyers,  dentists,  and  others  of  sedentary  occupation  into  active 
members  of  a  Golf  and  Country  Club  located  in  a  section  that  enjoys 
real  rapid  transit  to  Manhattan.  That  section  for  the  golf  players  of 
New  York  is  the  Flushing  District  of  Queens  Borough. 

The  undersigned  holds,  among  others,  one  property  of  about  200 
acres  in  New  York  City  that  a  leading  golf  expert  has  visited  and  pro- 
nounced an  unrivalled  site  for  a  golf  and  country  club. 


Bayside  Yacht  Club — Little  Neck  Bay 


63 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


This  property  will  accommodate  an  18-hole  course  and  a  27  if 
necessary.  Another  holding  of  60  acres  is  ideal  for  a  limited  member- 
ship playing  9-hole  golf. 

Both  are  30  minutes  from  Pennsylvania  Station,  within  the  limits 
of  Greater  New  York.  The  undersigned  will  match  dollar  for  dollar 
any  golf-country  club  propostion  to  utilize  the  property  in  the  Flushing 
District  which  is  offered  for  that  purpose. 

Remember  that  New  York  City  suburban  land  increases  in  value 
each  year. 

Your  principal  is  not  only  safe  beyond  a  doubt,  but  beyond  a  doubt, 
also,  the  yearly  increase  in  value  of  the  land  will  amount  to  much  more 
than  ordinary  interest  return  on  the  investment.  In  addition,  all  carry- 
ing charges  should  be  met  by  the  plan  which  has  been  evolved  by  the 
undersigned  and  which  will  be  explained  in  detail  at  a  personal  inter- 
view. 

HALLERAN  AGENCY, 

Real  Estate — Insurance — Mortgages — Loans 
Auctioneers — Expert  Appraisers. 

63  Broadway 

Telephone :  Flushing  874.  Flushing,  New  York  City. 


64 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


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67 


FLUSHING    AND  VICINITY 


The  New  York  and  Queens  Gas  Company,  which  supplies  the  Third 
Ward,  Borough  of  Queens,  has  its  principal  office  at  88  Main  Street, 
Flushing,  in  a  handsome  office  building  erected  particularly  for  its  own 
use  and  has  on  display  all  the  modern  gas  appliances  to  help  enlighten 
the  labors  of  the  housewife,  to  improve  the  quality  of  the  articles  cooked 
and  save  money  for  the  housewife.  It  has  always  aimed  to  give  the  very 
best  possible  service  and  with  a  special  trained  corps  of  men  ready  to  give 
advice  to  the  housewife,  storekeeper  or  the  manufacturer  as  to  the  best 
appliance  to  install  for  their  particular  needs  and  to  use  the  minimum 
amount  of  gas.  To  hear  the  commendatory  remarks  made  by  its  patrons 
it  must  have  succeeded  well. 


They  have  on  display  in  their  show-room,  besides  gas-ranges  to  suit 
all  places,  the  handy  and  indispensable  gas-heated  irons  and  the  instanta- 
neous automatic  water  heater  which  delivers  hot  water  by  simply  turning 
on  the  faucet  and  makes  life  worth  living. 

They  try  to  impress  their  patrons  with  the  idea  that  there  are  new 
gas  appliances  coming  out  all  the  time  and  all  one  has  to  do  is  to  consult 
them  on  their  particular  needs  to  get  a  suggestion  as  to  what  is  best 
suited. 

The  Company  was  established  in  1854  by  men  living  in  Flushing 
and  whose  names  are  linked  with  everything  in  its  development.  They 
were  proud  of  the  Gas  Company  and  its  connection  with  the  community 
and  this  same  feeling  prevails  to-day.  This  Gas  Company  is  an  individual 
and  enters  into  everything  that  promotes  the  interests  of  Flushing,  the 
same  as  any  other  individual. 


68 


CITIZENS  OF  FLUSHING: 


For  your  purpose  a  bank  is  exactly  as  good  as  the  service  it 
can  render  to  you.  What  your  bank  can  do  for  you  is  what  in- 
terests you  most.  The  Flushing  National  Bank  is  first  of  all  a 
Flushing  bank,  managed  by  Flushing  citizens,  and  depending  on 
Flushing  patronage  for  its  success.  It  is  not  a  branch  bank. 
Unless  it  pleases  and  satisfies  Flushing  citizens  it  has  no  excuse 
for  being  and  cannot  succeed. 

The  Flushing  National  Bank  is  a  success;  increasingly  so 
each  week.  The  efficient,  satisfactory  service  we  are  giving  other 
Flushing  citizens  we  can  give  you  as  well  and  we  wish  to  do  so. 

We  invite  you  to  become  a  patron  of  this  bank  and  a  user 
of  our  little  blue  checks. 


CLARENCE  M.  LOWES,  President 
ELLIS  PARKER  BUTLER  1  Vice-      HARRY  N.  RENNER,  Cashier 
HARRY  B.  PEACE  /Pres.       CARL  MEYER,  Asst.  Cashier 

DIRECTORS 
ELLIS  PARKER  BUTLER       CHARLES  U.  POWELL 
HERBERT  S.  HARVEY  CHARLES  H.  ROBERTS 

WILLIAM  W.  KNOWLES        GILBERT  W.  ROBERTS 
CLARENCE  M.  LOWES  CLINTON  T.  ROE 

FRANK  B.  McCORD  GILBERT  W.  STEELE 

HARRY  B.  PEACE  CHARLES  G.  M.  THOMAS 

AUBREY  WEYMOUTH 

FLUSHING  NATIONAL  BANK 
Main  and  Amity  Streets 
Member  Federal  Reserve  System. 

Depository  U.  S.  Postal  Savings  Funds. 


69 


Smokers  Everywhere  are  Peculiar  in 
their  Tastes  and  Whims 


TASTES— 

I  have  in  stock  matured  tobaccos — Havana  and  Domestic — 
of  such  varied  character,  flavor  and  strength  that  I  am  quite  sure 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  ANY  tobacco  taste. 

WHIMS— 

Years  ago  there  were  only  a  few  different  shapes  of  cigars 
made — Conchas,  Panatelas,  Perfectos,  etc. 

To-day  each  manufacturer  puts  out  a  large  number  of  differ- 
ent styles. 

Cigar  shapes  and  styles  reflect  the  individual  whim.  One 
or  two  sizes  would  meet  all  practical  uses.  But  every  man  to 
his  fancy. 

I  am  now  making  at  least  50  styles  of  cigars,  to  suit  the 
whims  of  my  customers.  Maybe  one  of  these  will  suit  you.  IF 
NOT— 

I  will  make  you  any  style  of  cigar  you  desire,  out  of  any  kind 
of  tobacco  you  desire. 

All  my  cigars  are  hand-rolled  on  my  own  premises.  Prices 
range  from  $5  per  100  to  $12  per  100  for  cigars  of  varying  quality 
and  size. 

PIPES— 

I  pride  myself  on  my  judgment  in  buying  pipes  to  sell  dis- 
criminating smokers  and  in  keeping  on  hand  the  several  brands 
of  smoking  tobaccos  that  experienced  pipe-smokers  have  found 
to  be  the  most  agreeable  and  satisfying. 

LOCAL  BOOSTING— 

Those  who  have  the  interests  of  this  community  most  at 
heart  should,  so  far  as  practicable,  buy  the  goods  of  local  mer- 
chants. On  this  principle  I  ask  consideration  for  my  line  of 
goods. 

Special  Christmas  and  New  Year's  orders  filled. 

Established  1858  Telephone  1412  Flushing 

H.  G.  GALATIAN,  Prop. 
MANUFACTURER  OF  FINE  CIGARS 
5/2  Main  Street  FLUSHING,  N.  Y. 

/  will  take  time  to  wait  on  you  personally  if  you  come  to  my  shop 


70 


FLUSHING 

The  City  of  Beautiful  Homes  and  Trees 

We  know  FLUSHING  will  grow,  we  are  preparing 
for  this  by  building  a  new  sub-station,  large  enough 
not  only  to  supply  the  moderate  demands  of  our 
present  consumers,  but  also  the  extraordinary  demands 
for  future  growth. 

This  is  the  Electric  Age 

You  can  not  afford  to  be  without 

Electricity  in  your  Home— Wire  It! 


Dont  delay — Visit  our  new  Flushing  Office  at  81  MAIN 
STREET,  and  learn  HOW  TO  MAKE  HOME  MORE 
ATTRACTIVE  and  convenient  and  HOUSEWORK  EASIER 


New  York  and  Queens  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Go. 


71 


*.  Altaian  $c  GIo. 


Visitors  to  New  York 

will  find  in  B.  Altman  &  Co.'s 
store  everything  needed  for  the 
complete  replenishment  of  their 
wardrobes 

FASHIONABLE  CLOTHES 

FOR  ALL  OCCASIONS 

Toilet  Necessaries  Leather  Goods 

Correct  Stationery 

and  other  requirements  of  the  man  and  woman 
of  fastidious  tastes 


JFtftfj  Atmtur — iHa&tson  Aimm* 
Nnti  fork 


Own  Your  Home 
in  Beautiful 

FLUSHING 


We  have  a  selected  list  of  attractive  houses 
now  in  course  of  construction  in  desirable 
locations.    Prices  varying  from 

$8,500  to  $20,000 

We  also  have  desirable  plots  with  mort- 
gage loans  for  home  builders. 

If  you  are  in  search  of  a  home,  a  plot  for 
a  home,  or  a  mortgage  loan,  ask 

MR.  HALLERAN 

Halleran  Agency 

Phones :  Flushing \^\       FLUSHING,  N.  Y. 


